Behind the Veil of Power
by MemoryOfNothing
Summary: An odd series of events bring two champions from opposing sides clashing together. Yet, the more time Irelia spends with the sovereign, the more intrigued she becomes with the dangerous mage. Will Irelia be able to break through Syndra's hatred? Or will she only push the mage closer to destroying everything. Syndra X Irelia. Rated M for explicit content, violence, and language.
1. Chapter 1

**Substitute**

"WHAT!? GOD D..." Irelia dropped her head to her desk and groaned. Taking a deep breath, the Ionian tried to restore her composure before speaking into the phone in her right hand.

"What happened to her?" The warrior asked.

"I'm not too sure about the details myself, but it had something to do with a summoner error..."

"Well... Is she alright?" Irelia asked after a few moments of silence.

"Ahri?" The voice at the other end of the line spoke, "Yeah, she should make a full recovery. There is definitely no way she can make it for tomorrows match though, we will need to find a substitute for our mid lane..."

Unable to suppress her frustration, Irelia heaved a heavy sigh before speaking into the phone.

"Any ideas, Soraka?" Irelia inquired, sounding hopeful. Sadly, the healer quickly extinguished the small glimmer of hope in her voice.

"Sorry, 'relia, I would say ask Kennen or Akali, but both of them are back home in Ionia for the off season." Static filled the telephone as Soraka heaved a sigh similar to Irelia's. "Well..." The healer continued after a short pause, "We could just withdraw... I mean the tournament we put together was just a little fun competition anyways... Besides-"

"No!" Irelia interrupted abruptly. "We should stick this through to the end."

On the opposite side of the phone, Soraka let out a small chuckle. She knew full well that Irelia would never choose to give up on a competition, it simply went against her nature.

"Maybe you could take mid?" Irelia inquired, sounding doubtful about her own suggestion.

"Me?!" Soraka questioned almost incredulously. "No no no no no. Besides, I already promised Varus that I would be supporting him in the tournament..."

"We even made it all the way to the finals..." Irelia grumbled with frustration.

"Well..." Soraka spoke up hesitantly.

"What?" Irelia questioned immediately

"There is one person that could take mid lane..." Soraka paused before quickly adding on "You definitely won't like it though..."

"Who!" Irelia demanded instantly, sounding hopeful once more.

"Syndra..."

Irelia's heart sank instantly upon hearing the name. Syndra was definitely a person that she preferred to avoid whenever possible. Though she didn't know her well, Irelia had heard enough rumors about Syndra's instability along with her caustic attitude.

" 'relia?" Soraka questioned hesitantly.

"Oh, uh... sorry?" Irelia quickly replied as her attention quickly snapped back to their conversation.

"You're not seriously going to ask her are you?" Soraka inquired.

...

...

...

" 'relia..." Soraka spoke in a suddenly concerned tone.

"It's not like we have a better option." Irelia replied, sounding more confident than she actually was.

"You can't be serious..." Soraka started before Irelia cut her off.

"I am." The warrior stated flatly. Static filled the line again as Soraka heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Well... Just be careful... okay?" Soraka replied, sounding slightly nervous.

"Yeah... I'll see you tomorrow." Irelia answered and hung up the phone.

_Here goes nothing..._ Irelia thought to herself.

* * *

Although the Institute of War offered all manners of housing for its champions, Syndra was among the few that resolutely refused to move into one of their apartments. Far too prideful and much to spiteful of the other champions, the sovereign chose to stay in her own home, namely the floating fortress that she had ripped out of Ionia's soil. As Irelia strode up the floating stone steps to the castle, she felt a sense of unease wash over her; a feeling of dread which could only be attributed to the deathly aura of the fortress itself. However, the Ionian steeled herself and continued up the path, resolutely determined to accomplish her goal.

Upon reaching the ominous front gates to the fortress, Irelia reached out and hammered powerfully on the ghoulish black metal. The pounding created a hollow ring that reverberated throughout the entire fortress.

Silence.

Though she usually had a fair amount of patience, Irelia found herself unusually agitated. She pounded the gates again, creating more obnoxious ringing.

Again, only silence rewarded her efforts.

Annoyed, Irelia backed away slightly, intending to smash the door open if she had to. Gritting her teeth, Irelia steeled her will and tensed her muscles in preparation to break the gate down... Until the gate creaked open slightly. Even further annoyed, Irelia rolled her eyes as she rudely shoved the gate open entirely and wandered into the fortress courtyard. Instantly, Irelia felt dwarfed by the massive, ominous walls that towered over the courtyard in an intimidating manner. Again, the warrior swallowed the lump in her throat. Clearing her throat slightly, Irelia mustered the courage to shout.

"SYNDRA!" She yelled. Her voice bounced about the courtyard , creating an echo.

Silence...

Breathing in again, Irelia prepared to shout again until an annoyed voice spoke out from behind her.

"Shut up. You're too loud."

Whirling instantly, Irelia searched for the source of the hollow, annoyed voice. It only took a few moments to find it. Perched atop a watchtower was Syndra, laying on her stomach with her head cradled in the palms of her hands. It was evident that Syndra had been sitting there for a long time and had definitely heard Irelia's knocks; only she chose to entirely ignore the warrior's attempts to grab her attention. Mildly annoyed, the mage spoke again.

"What do you fools want from me now?"

Irelia cringed slightly at Syndra's caustic greeting, but she was already far too annoyed with the sovereign to allow Syndra to bully her around.

"We need you." Irelia stated flatly in a voice that clearly exhibited her annoyance over the fact that she actually needed the sovereign's aid. Syndra laughed in response to Irelia's statement, her cold, hollow voice echoed gratingly off the walls of her fortress.

"Of course you need me." Syndra stated with a cocky, twisted smile. "The real question is... What is it that I need?"

Irelia frowned at the sovereign's lack of humility, or rather lack of even the slightest amount of politeness. With a short breath, Irelia quickly recomposed herself.

"You don't need anything." Irelia replied, making small shooing motion with her hand. "Besides, weren't you the one who loved being sent to the fields in order to 'show off'?"

Instantly, Syndra's mouth twisted into a scowl; the Ionian was doing a good job of pushing her buttons. Even more, she was brushing her off. Her. The Dark Sovereign. Rising from her perch atop the tower, Syndra gently glided down to the courtyard floor. The moment her feet touched the ground, an explosive amount of raw power erupted from fortress as well as Syndra herself. With a swift gesture, Syndra brought the free floating energy about her, creating a demonic purple aura.

"YOU are the one asking ME for help." Syndra spat angrily, "Remember that fact, worm."

A part of Irelia was tempted to continue prodding the sovereign with subtle insults, but Irelia held her tongue, knowing that Syndra was actually right.

"Alright, alright..." Irelia sighed, rolling her eyes with exasperation and trying to appear unimpressed by Syndra's display of power.

"Just show up at ten tomorrow at The Rift, alright?" Irelia finished.

A brief moment of silence passed as Syndra skeptically folded her arms, raising one hand to her chin as she weighed her options. On one hand, going to the rift implied she would be fighting alongside Ionia in their petty games. On the other hand, she was bored. Really bored. Subconsciously, Syndra frowned as she tried to come up with more reasons not to help Ionia. Maybe-

"Please?" Irelia hesitantly interrupted Syndra's train of thought.

Instantly, Syndra's looked back up at the warrior.

"What?" Syndra snapped, unsure if Irelia had even said anything.

"Please." Irelia repeated uncomfortably. "It's the finals..."

Syndra blinked quizzically before returning to being rude and abnoxious.

"Why are you still here?" She inquired in a mildly offensive tone.

"Umm..." Irelia stuttered as she tapped the toe of her boot on the floor, awkwardly waiting for an answer from the mage.

"Well...?" Irelia pushed, trying to get some form of confirmation from Syndra.

"I'll think about it." Syndra snapped, annoyed with Irelia's persistence. "Now get out before I throw you out."

Although she wasn't entirely satisfied with Syndra's answer, Irelia had little choice but to comply with the sovereign's wishes. Staying would clearly only push the mage towards refusing her request.

"Alright..." Irelia sighed almost disappointedly as she turned and slouched out the door, feeling as though she had failed.

When Irelia disappeared from her sight, Syndra scowled again.

"Ionians..." Syndra spat viciously before turning around and vanishing into the depths of her castle.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Finals**

Twenty four hours passed all to quickly for Irelia. Anxious and uncharacteristically impatient, the warrior had a difficult time removing her mind from constantly worrying about whether or not they would have a replacement champion for their mid-lane. Her thoughts even made the idea of catching restful sleep completely out of question. So, instead of restlessly tossing about in nonexistent sleep, Irelia spent the entire night and early morning wandering about the Institute of War. She returned home only to catch a quick meal before immediately heading over to the rift in preparation for the match to come.

With thirty minutes to spare, three of her teammates strolled in at the same time. Irelia greeted them all curtly with a nod of her head. Before she could say anything, however, Soraka hurried forward and whispered nervously.

"Well... How did it go?" The star child asked, barely able to contain her curiosity.

Irelia breathed in deeply before fixating Soraka staring at the healer with a raised eyebrow. Finally, Irelia breathed in again before exhaling slowly and speaking.

"Hope for the best." Irelia answered, trying to sound confident that the mage would show up.

Her confidence seemed to comfort the star caller. That is, until another twenty minutes had passed.

"Irelia, where is she? We need to get ready!" Soraka whispered anxiously. Behind her, Master Yi and Varus were having a much more light-hearted conversation. Irelia, however, was too worried to pick up on the small snippets of their conversation. She glanced at the clock which was ticking inexorably towards ten o'clock AM.

"Hey Irelia!" Varus suddenly called out, startling the warrior out of her concern.

"Yeah?" Irelia answered, her voice shaking slightly in anxiety.

"Who is taking mid?" The archer inquired curiously.

"I-... uhm..." Irelia glanced at Soraka desperately.

"I am, WEAKLING." A familiar hollow voice echoed out from above them, saving Irelia from having to lie or give an explanation.

Without looking up, Master Yi and Varus both froze. Glancing at each other, they both thought the same exact thing.

_OHHHHHH SHIT_...

As her feet touched the ground, Syndra swiveled her head, scanning the faces and heads of the four other champions around her. Immediately she frowned. They were all Ionian. And worst yet, they were all staring at her.

"What." Syndra snapped in an annoyed tone, "Prefer that I leave you to defeat?"

Instantly, Yi, Varus, and Soraka broke their stares and searched frantically for some other object to focus on. Irelia, on the other hand, didn't break her gaze. Instead, she directly addressed the dark mage.

"Syndra. Thank you for joining us." Irelia spoke in a hurried but courteous voice.

The polite greeting earned Irelia a huffed up glare from the Sovereign. It was clear that Syndra felt a certain degree of satisfaction from forcing Irelia to be so polite to her. Irelia, however, chose to ignore the rather smug glare from the mage.

"Alright, now that we are all here..." Irelia paused to glance at each champion in turn, '"We are going up against Bilgewater in this final match. Their roster includes Fizz, Gangplank, Nami, Nautilus, and Sarah- I mean Miss Fortune. "

Irelia shifted uncomfortably at using Miss Fortune's actual name, she was far too accustomed to calling her by her actual name since Irelia frequented a bar owned by the pirate hunter. Clearing her throat, Irelia brushed off her discomfort before speaking again.

"They have a pretty good team comp, but we've made it this far. Syndra, you're up against Fizz so do your best early, but watch out for his dodge. He counters you pretty hard so-"

"Counter ME?" Syndra interrupted rudely with a harsh laugh. "There is NO counter to my power!"

"But-"

"AND don't tell me how to fight, I know full well what I am capable of." Syndra snapped, refusing to acknowledge her own shortcomings.

Irelia bit her lip in order to hold herself back from correcting the sovereign and her childish beliefs.

"Alright then..." Irelia muttered with a sigh, "Let's go."

With that, all five champions moved to the glowing blue summoning circle at the entrance to the rift.

* * *

Being summoned to the rift was not a process that Syndra particularly enjoyed. If being summoned was comparable to anything, it was probably closest to being sucked through a tube that was far too small to fit a human sized object. As the circle beneath her glowed, the sovereign felt a familiar feeling of nausea wash over her. The mage closed her eyes in preparation for the discomfort to come. Before long, she felt as though she were being compressed on all sides as a dazzling display of lights flashed before her eyes. Finally, everything stopped. Opening her eyes, Syndra found herself gazing out across a familiar battlefield. Grey cobblestone blocks dotted with blue crystals littered the base. To her front left and right stood two monolithic stone statues, standing guard before a large blue nexus.

Wanting to escape the stench of Ionian balance, Syndra quickly purchased her starting items, a dorians ring and two health potions, and floated out into her lane. Upon exiting the base, the sovereign took a quick detour to her left, entering the jungle, before camping out in a bush in wait for a potential invasion from the enemy team. An invasion that never came.

Syndra frowned slightly, invasions rarely ever happened these days. Everyone was always playing passively. In other words, they played the game as boring as possible.

"_Uh uh... Hello?"_ A voice suddenly sounded in Syndra's head. It was her summoner.

"UH, UH SHUT UP!" Syndra roared back at the summoner viciously. "Do NOT speak to me unless I address you first or you have something important to say, got it?"

"..._okay_..." the summoner replied meekly.

"Hmph..." Syndra sounded huffily as she glanced at the clock. Another thirty seconds until the fun began.

"What's your name, weakling?" Syndra sneered at her summoner.

"_Aaron_!" the summoner replied immediately sounding happy that the sovereign asked. He made the mistake of continuing to speak, "_It's short for Aaroniero, I'm named after my-_"

"SHUT UP!" Syndra roared angrily a second time. "I asked your name, not your life story, you spineless worm!"

"_...sorry..."_ Aaron replied meekly. The sound of the summoner's terrified voice gave Syndra some amount of satisfaction.

"You better be." Syndra replied darkly. "And you better do a good job."

"..._okay..._" Aaron replied even meeker than before.

_Minions have spawned!_

Syndra was waiting for that. Floating out of the bush, Syndra returned to spawn site of the large blue golems. After a few moments, the large creature phased into existence and was immediately engaged by both Master Yi and Irelia. Syndra's frown deepened as she floated towards the golems.

_Ionians..._ Syndra thought venomously as she tossed a few spheres at golem, rapidly decreasing its hp before leaving Master Yi to finish it off himself.

Eager to return to her lane and being pummeling minions with her powers, Syndra didn't even hear Yi thank her for leashing him. The moment she emerged into her lane, Syndra's previous annoyance evaporated instantly. Fizz was already in the lane, but she wasn't too concerned about the fish thing. Instead, Syndra quickly located the enemy minion with the lowest health left and squashed it with a large sphere. The poor minion died instantly as its remaining health vanished.

While the sovereign was preoccupied, Fizz immediately seized the opportunity to score some minions of his own, impaling the creatures with his trusty trident. Unfortunately, the sovereign was far from generous to just allow the trickster to have access to her minions. Instead, Syndra summoned a large sphere on top of him as he tried to attack her minions. Fizz backed off immediately, not wanting to sustain too much damage from the mage.

The exchange continued for several minutes with neither side taking advantage of the other, only Syndra held a slight advantage and lead over the trickster due to her ranged abilities and Fizz's lack of them. At this point, Syndra was floating dangerously out in the middle of the dead zone directly between her turret and Fizz's. Suddenly, from out of the shadows of the forest, a massive anchor flew out and struck the mage, digging sharply into her flesh and yanking her towards the jungle. Grimacing in pain, Syndra reacted immediately, summoning a sphere in the darkness where the anchor came from. A loud clang indicated she had hit her target. Unfortunately, she was still far from out of danger. Emerging from the forest, Nautilus lumbered out with speed that was remarkable for such a massive iron clad man. Recovering from the pain slightly, Syndra backed away, trying to escape from the two champions closing in on her. Summoning another sphere in front of Nautilus, Syndra launched a wave of energy which simultaneously knocked the titan back and briefly stunned him.

"On my way!" A voice suddenly sounded in her head. It was Master Yi. With a quick glance, Syndra's eyes caught a slight blur in the distance as Yi sprinted towards her lane at top speed. Before Yi could arrive, however, Fizz nimbly pole vaulted towards the mage, simultaneously empowering his weapon and diving into the sovereign with a powerful stab. Syndra cried out in pain as Fizz's trident ripped deep into her chest, injuring her severely. Despite being in clear agony, Syndra fought back, battering the fishman who was already wounded from previous spheres with a new barrage of magic. Seizing a nearby minion, Syndra tossed the creature into Fizz, further injuring the trickster and hampering his movements. Syndra then attempted to crush him with a sphere while he was slowed, but the damage was not enough to earn her first blood. With Fizz fleeing with a mere one hundred health points left, Syndra called upon her summoner.

"IGNITE!" Syndra screamed at Aaron, desperate to at least destroy Fizz before she fell to the recovering titan. Within a few milliseconds, Aaron reacted.

Only he casted the wrong spell. Rather than throwing the true damage spell on fleeing trickster, Aaron flashed Syndra directly into range of Fizz's turret. Instantly, the statue targeted the mage with a bright red laser before firing a massive ball of purple energy. Completely caught off guard, Syndra found herself momentarily paralyzed in disbelief with what was happening. Already wounded and low on health, Syndra shut her eyes in preparation for the inevitable. Within a heartbeat, the ball of energy smashed into the mage, ripping a hole in Syndra's chest cavity. She collapsed instantly as pain flooded her mind before engulfing her in merciful darkness.

_You have been slain!_

_FIRST BLOOD!_

...

...

...

_An enemy has been slain!_

...

...

...

After a few seconds passed, Syndra found herself at her team's fountain once more, her tattered body miraculously whole once again. But Syndra was far from amazed with her recovery. No. She was absolutely livid.

"ARE. YOU. KIDDING?!" Syndra screamed at Aaron.

"..._sorry, I'm so sorry!" _Aaron whimpered pathetically. He tried to focus on the bright side of the situation, "_At least Master Yi got him, you still get rewarded for the assist!"_

"I DON'T CARE!" Syndra snarled, sounding even more furious than before "I SHOULD HAVE HAD THAT KILL, I SHOULD HAVE HAD FIRST BLOOD!"

Preoccupied with berating her summoner, Syndra didn't notice as Master Yi ported in behind her.

"My apologies for not arriving sooner, sovereign..." Master addressed the mage somewhat apologetically. Syndra briefly glared at the swordsman before refocusing on her summoner.

"Mess up again and I WILL KILL YOU!" Syndra screeched in a voice so loud that even Irelia could hear her from her distant top lane.

Wincing slightly at the evident fury in the sovereign's voice, Irelia took a moment to ask her summoner a few questions.

"Michelle?" The warrior inquired as she struck down another minion with her blade.

"_Yes Irelia?_" Her summoner answered immediately.

"Who is Syndra's summoner?" The Ionian asked politely.

...

...

...

"Michelle?"

"_Uhm... I don't think it's a good idea to say..."_ Michelle answered hesitantly. It was unusual, considering that Michelle and Irelia tended to get along fairly well.

"What's wrong? Who is it?" Irelia pressed on, her curiosity piqued, The Ionian promptly felt Michelle sigh in subdued exasperation.

"_It's Aaron..._" She finally replied in a regretful voice.

"Oh god..." Irelia said aloud. Instantly, the Ionian asked another question, "Why is he still summoning? Why wasn't he replaced after what he did to Ahri?!" Irelia demanded, clearly displeased and worried at the same time.

"_I'm sorry, Irelia, there were no other summoners on hand! I tried to have him removed, but there wasn't anyone to replace him!"_ Michelle replied, clearly just as distraught as Irelia was.

"This isn't ending well..." Irelia muttered to herself before quickly refocusing on the battle.

Ten minutes later, Irelia's premonition turned out to be all too accurate. With her lane shoved up to Fizz's tower, Syndra noticed Nautilus charging his way towards bottom lane. A quick glance at her map quickly told the sovereign that Master Yi was far too busy battling Gangplank alongside Irelia in order to assist bottom lane. It didn't take long for Syndra to head down to bottom lane herself in order to prevent a death or perhaps even score a kill for herself.

"Aaargh!" Varus's painful grunt met Syndra's ears. Nautilus landed a hook on the archer and hammered him strongly with his anchor. She smiled, knowing that the Ionian was in pain, none the less, she doubled her speed. Soraka, on the other hand, reacted immediately, casting a spell to nullify Nautilus's abilities and then quickly casting a spell to heal Varus's injuries. The archer recovered enough to begin limping his way back towards the protection of his turret. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. With a well placed cast, Nami launched a colossal tidal wave at the fleeing archer and healer, knocking both champions to the floor. Miss Fortune took advantage of the clumped up pair to launch her own hailstorm of bullets, inflicting grievous wounds on both Ionians. In one last desperate attempt to preserve their lives, Soraka called upon the power of the stars, shining a bright, heavenly light on her entire team and healing them by a large amount. The single spell was just enough to temporarily delay their deaths. With a predatory grin on her face, Syndra burst out of the jungle with two of her spheres at the ready. Summoning a third directly on top of the tidecaller, Syndra promptly blasted out a wave of energy, sending the sphere flying into the mermaid and into the Miss Fortune who was standing next to her, briefly stunning both champions. The sovereign then continued her assault by throwing one of her previously summoned spheres at the stunned pair before finally commanding all spheres to come crashing down upon the poor unsuspecting mermaid.

In a valiant sacrifice, Nami chose to heal Miss Fortune over preserving her own life, barely giving the pirate hunter enough vitality to survive the onslaught and retreat to her tower. Syndra smiled cruelly as the young mermaid flopped to the floor convulsing in death. Unfortunately, Syndra was far too blood thirsty to simply be satisfied with one kill, she wanted _more_. Ignoring Nautilus, who was still attempting to secure a kill on one of the wounded bottom lane members, Syndra took off after Miss Fortune. Nimbly, the bounty hunter dodged side to side, attempting to avoid a fatal blow form the sovereign. The pirate hunter narrowly dodged Syndra's first attack as one of her abrupt changes in direction caused Syndra to misplace a sphere. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky on the second. Grabbing the same sphere she had just summoned, Syndra swung the orb like a wrecking ball directly into Miss Fortune's back. Instantly, Sarah coughed in pain as the orb smashed into her back with destructive results. Yet, it wasn't enough. By now, Miss Fortune was within the protective range of her turret and only a few steps away from safety. Again, Syndra resorted to calling upon her summoner.

"IGNITE HER YOU IDIOT!" Syndra roared at Aaron. Aaron reacted instantly, casting ignite on the nearest target.

...

Only the nearest target wasn't Miss Fortune; it was Nautilus. The titan barely twitched as the true damage spell struck him, doing little more than putting a small dink in his heavy armor. Peering into the depths of his glowing eyes, Syndra's fury boiled uncontrollably as the titan merely blinked in response to the spell casted on him. Even more livid than before, Syndra furiously summoned a sphere on the titan before knocking him back and stunning him, allowing her to retreat safely. Aaron, on the other hand, was already preparing for the verbal abuse to come.

"_Sorry! I panicked, I'm so sorry, please-"_

"I. WILL. KILL. YOU!" Syndra screamed at her summoner. "I WON'T JUST KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOUR MOM, YOUR DAD, YOUR SISTER, BROTHER..." She paused briefly to draw in a breath "I'LL EVEN KILL YOUR DOG IF YOU HAVE ONE!"

"_I'm so sorry... please just give me another-"_

_"_SHUT THE HELL UP!" Syndra blasted as she teleported back to base. After materializing at her fountain, Syndra took a few deep, breaths before speaking again.

"If you so much as even THINK... about summoning me EVER AGAIN... I will give you a fate worse than death." Syndra seethed in a dangerously low voice that dripped with venom. Aaron barely even whimpered in response.

"Thank you for the assistance, Sovereign..." A feminine voice behind her spoke. Syndra whirled around to steal a glance at the speaker.

"Whatever." Syndra replied, clearly too engulfed by her own rage to properly address the star child. With that, Syndra headed down mid lane once again, still fuming with anger. As she floated further away from her base, however, Syndra quickly noticed an uncomfortable numbness in the left half of her face along with difficulty seeing out of her left eye. Hesitating slightly, the mage brought a hand up to her face. Nothing. She couldn't feel anything. Syndra tried to turn around, but her movements were sluggish and dull as though her body wouldn't do what she was trying to do. Abruptly, her magic flickered, causing the mage to collapse to her knees. Completely uncertain of what was happening, Syndra attempted to ask Aaron if something was wrong on his end.

"W-what... are you doing?" Syndra gasped.

No reply.

"Syndra, are you alright?" A voice suddenly pierced her mind. It was Irelia. Feebly, the mage tried to answer with a rude reply, but she couldn't even do that. Her body simply wouldn't move.

"_Irelia, something is happening, I don't know what, Aaron's not saying anything!"_ Michelle suddenly spoke in Irelia's mind, her voice was agitated and anxious. From their connection, Irelia suddenly heard a loud crash, followed by the sound of scuffling as though there was a fight breaking out.

_"STOP THAT AARON!"_ Irelia suddenly heard Michelle yell out, "_THAT'S DANGEROUS! WHAT ARE YOU!-"_

Abruptly, Irelia's connection to her summoner winked out. Fearing the worse, Irelia glanced at Syndra who had collapsed into a heap on the floor.

"GUYS! STOP THE MATCH!" Irelia yelled, gravely concerned that something had gone horribly wrong.

Only, Irelia was mistaken. The horror was only about to begin. Out of the corner of her eye, Irelia saw a sudden convulsion from the sovereign.

"_Oh no... It's Ahri all over again!"_ Irelia thought, panic quickly rising in her mind. Immediately, Irelia began sprinting towards the fallen mage. Ten meters away, however, Irelia was knocked to the floor by an explosive surge of energy. As she recovered, Irelia yanked her eyes open just in time to witness a huge flash of light erupt from around Syndra. The surge of energy crackled dangerously as it struck the surrounding area before repeatedly striking the sovereign. Once the energy contacted the sovereign, it seemed to latch onto Syndra, violently electrocuting her.

Syndra screamed.

It was a horrid cry of pure agony; one that echoed throughout the entire rift, sounding as though Syndra were being burned alive. From her position, Irelia watched helplessly as the sovereign's back arched backwards and her eyes rolled backwards into her head. Finally, it stopped. Instantly, Syndra collapsed back into a heap, her body still crackling with electricity and her clothes smoking slightly.

"MEDICAL TEAM!" Irelia screamed at the top of her lungs. Without a moment's hesitation, Irelia rushed to the fallen mage. The sight was grim. Several parts of Syndra's body were burned black by electricity. Doing her best to ignore the smell of burnt flesh, Irelia heaved the mage onto her shoulders and hauled the mage as fast as she could back to her team's fountain, hoping that the summoner's magic would be able to heal the mage. No such luck. Glancing down at her own body, Irelia quickly confirmed that the fountain was indeed active. That could only mean that Syndra had been forcefully disconnected in some unconventional manner. Kneeling down by the mage's side, Irelia felt for the sovereign's pulse. Thankfully, it was still active. After a few seconds, a loud siren sounded from within the rift, signaling a pause to the battle and the entry of several summoners. From around Irelia, several pillars of light beamed down from the artificial sky and three medical summoners emerged from the each pillar. Irelia stood up and backed away from the summoners to give them room to attend to the sovereign.

"Irelia! What happened!" A male voice called out. Irelia lifted her eyes to glance at the speaker. It was Master Yi; Varus and Soraka not far behind him.

"Dunno..." Irelia managed to croak. She glanced back at the team which was attending to Syndra.

"Oh my god... It's just like Ahri..." Soraka whispered in a hushed voice. The four Ionians stood off to the sidelines, watching in silence as the medical team did their best to bring the sovereign back to consciousness.

Then, everything changed. Instantly, the air around Syndra became extremely heavy; dense, as though an immense amount of power was being concentrated in a single location. Recognizing the buildup of power, Irelia reacted instantly.

"HIT THE FLOOR!" She yelled and dived into the medical team, tackling all of them to the floor and away from Syndra's body. Not a second too soon. Seconds later, Syndra's eyes snapped open, livid with absolute rage. Without even bothering to look around at where she was, Syndra blindly released her pent up energy straight into the sky. Being disconnected from the equalizing energies of the rift, her power was un-damped and pure. Violently, the surge of pure magic ripped into the sky and struck the ceiling of the rift, easily penetrating the magical layer and tearing a hole that revealed the open sky. Without a moment's wait, Syndra lifted herself off the ground and shot through the sky at the speed of a bullet. Exiting through the hole she just created, Syndra emerged from the rift and into the Institute of War. She was searching for only one thing. The summoner's platform. Swiveling her head, Syndra instantly located the platform by a small column of smoke which curled out of the small building and into the air. With similar speed as before, Syndra shot down to the building's roof before forcefully calling upon her power and completely tearing off the building's roof. Tossing the roof aside, Syndra's eyes darted about quickly, searching for the man responsible for her injury. Finally, she found him. Pinned beneath four other summoners, Aaron was helplessly struggling to free himself. Syndra's rude entry was the perfect distraction for him to do so. As the four summoners turned in shock to see what had happened to the ceiling, Aaron scrambled to his feet and attempted to flee out of the front door. Syndra's face contorted with fury.

"YOUR LIFE IS MINE TO TAKE!" Syndra shrieked at the summoner. Using her unhinged power, Syndra reached out to the man and forcefully yanked him up into the sky. Before anyone could stop her, Syndra whipped Aaron up into the air and threw him with lethal speed at the ground below. Even before Aaron met his death with a horrible splatter, Syndra had already summoned an armada of spheres around her. Caving into her animalistic desire for revenge and destruction, Syndra sent each and every single one of her spheres smashing down into Aaron's corpse. The ground shook for a good five seconds as the onslaught pulverized the summoner's body, obliterating every trace of his prior existence into little more than a red stain on the ground.

Finally, Syndra stopped. Floating gently down to the freshly painted red ground, Syndra landed lightly before collapsing down to one knee and panting heavily. Within seconds of the conclusion of her outburst, ten master level summoners teleported in from around her, surrounding her.

"Surrender at once, Dark Sovereign, resistance will not be tolerated!" One of the summoners yelled out warningly. Exhausted, drained, and wounded from both her outburst and the forced disconnect form her summoner, Syndra shifted herself into a sitting position with her legs crossed. Still breathing heavily, Syndra managed to shake her head and wave a hand in uncharacteristic surrender. The summoners swiftly closed in to subdue her. But by the time they reached her, Syndra's consciousness had returned to the darkness once more.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I last posted a story. School is kicking up and I am rather occupied with staying on track with that stuff. Anyhow, I decided to reboot my Syndra and Irelia series into a Syndra x Irelia series. Yeah, rated M. You should know what that means. I am trying a little bit of a new writing style here, focusing more on character development as opposed to just throwing together a bunch of action scenes one after another. Hopefully this goes well, but if you don't like it, please let me know what I can do to make things better.

Side note for other projects/stories:

Eternal Ice is still being written and will be posted at a later date.

Thank you all for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**A Nightmare Come True**

Waking up was probably the worst thing that ever happened to Syndra. As the sovereign's deep violet eyes fluttered open, she was instantly greeted by a throbbing pain that pulsed throughout her entire body. With a groan, Syndra tried to push herself up into a sitting position. Pain ripped through her arms and left leg the moment she put any amount of pressure on any limb. The sovereign grunted as she allowed herself to fall back down onto her bed.

"_Strange..._" Syndra thought drowsily. Usually whenever she fell asleep, her body completely recovered from any injuries she sustained. She had her magic to thank for that.

Her power.

Abruptly Syndra's eyes widened in terror. Instantly, she shot up into a sitting position, ignoring her body's protests and glancing down at her own body.

Nothing.

She felt nothing.

Horrified, Syndra balled a hand into a fist, attempting to focus her energy.

Nothing again.

Finally, it dawned on her. Her powers had been sealed. Shutting her eyes, Syndra felt dread wash over her entire body, filling the very depths of her mind with misery. Heaving yet another groan, the sovereign tossed herself back onto the bed, landing with a solid thump. Syndra grimaced the from the impact, having struck something extremely dense with her back. With as little muscle movement as possible, Syndra ran a hand across the surface of the bed, searching for the hard object she landed on. She found none. Finally, Syndra ran her hand across her back, immediately coming into contact with the object she thought she hit. It was a part of her. Though she was laying on the bed, Syndra's shoulders sagged with grief. She didn't need a mirror to know what the object was; it was a rune. A suppressant to be exact, the very object which sealed away her powers and clung relentlessly to her back like some leech burned into her flesh.

After a few moments, Syndra shut her eyes, mulling over the events that lead her to this point. She only bothered to recall one thing before immediately knowing why she was in such a situation. Aaron. She killed him. Frowning slightly, the mage buried her face in her pillow.

"_He deserved it..._" Syndra told herself bitterly as she recalled the bright red stain on the floor that was her creation. Syndra shifted slightly so she could at least breathe while the majority of her face remained glued to the pillow. Syndra groaned again as the dull pain returned, more persistent than before. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and attempted to return to sleep, but alas, she wasn't allowed to. Minutes after she had closed her eyes, there was a light, but authoritative knock on the door.

"...Go away..." Syndra mumbled, her voice muted and muffled by the fact that her face was ingrained in her pillow. Either the person on the other side of the door didn't hear her, or chose to enter anyways. Within a few seconds, the door creaked open, followed by the sound of booted steps.

"Hey..." A familiar voice spoke up. Syndra opened an eye slightly to peek at the speaker. It was Irelia. Syndra closed her eye without replying, hoping that the blossoming young woman would leave without disturbing her more.

"They told me you were awake..." Irelia spoke up softly. She hesitated slightly before continuing, "Are you... alright?".

"nnnnnnnnnnnnn... I hate you..." Syndra muttered, opening an eye again to stare at Irelia. From her position, Irelia fidgeted uncomfortably, unaccustomed to the sovereign's coarse way of greeting other people.. Biting her lip, Irelia gathered the will to speak up again.

"Hey umm... I just wanted to say sorry for... you know, putting you in a position to get hurt..." Irelia allowed her voice to trail off. Her discomfort was evident in the almost guilty tone of her voice. Abruptly, Irelia stopped speaking, catching a glimpse of the rune burned into the back of the sovereign. She bit her lip again, the guilty feeling in her chest rising.

"... You're welcome." Syndra finally spoke up, her voice crooked and hoarse. Irelia blinked in surprise, almost not recognizing the sound of Syndra's voice without its characteristic hollow echo.

"What?" Irelia asked, puzzled at the sovereign's reply. Finally, Syndra dragged herself into a sitting position, fixing Irelia with a glare filled with utter hatred.

"I said you're welcome." Syndra spat disdainfully. "You should thank me."

"Uhm..." Irelia hesitated, clearly perplexed as to what Syndra could have possibly been referring to.

"I went along with your stupid plan." Syndra snarled with increasing anger. "You wanted me to kill him for you so you wouldn't have to deal with him ever again. And now that I did, I'm in this position!"

"Uhm... What?" Irelia repeated, utterly baffled as to what Syndra was talking about.

"IDIOT!" Syndra finally shrieked, her temper finally exploding. "I KILLED THAT MORON JUST LIKE YOU PLANNED, AND BECAUSE I DID THEY SEALED AWAY..." the mage stopped speaking abruptly. Furious, Syndra slammed a fist into the cushioning of her bed before snatching up her pillow and hurling the fluffy object at Irelia. It missed by a good meter, but Irelia reached out and caught the pillow as it passed by. Although she initially came to apologize to the sovereign, Irelia found herself completely put off by the mage's unreasonable accusations.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you even think for one second that I wanted you to get hurt or wanted Aaron to be killed, you are being an unreasonable idiot." Irelia said in a low, serious voice. "First of all, I would NEVER advocate the injury of another person if other options were available. Second of all, I didn't even know who your summoner was. Connect the dots." Irelia finished decisively, clearly upset with the sovereign's hospitality.

"Fuck you." Syndra spat, completely ignoring Irelia's proof of innocence.

That did it.

Now angry herself, Irelia viciously fluffed up the pillow in her hands before speaking furiously.

"You realize what you're saying?!" Irelia demanded adamantly, "THIS is why people HATE you. THIS is why you have NO friends. I came here to see if you were alright and say that I was sorry that you got hurt and what do you do? COMPLETELY IGNORE EVERYTHING I SAY! I'm sorry, okay? You can either take it, or leave it." Irelia finished, her face slightly flushed with emotion. Taking a deep breath, the Ionian warrior allowed her anger to dissipate as much as possible. With that, Irelia chucked the pillow back at Syndra, whirled on her heel, and stormed back out of the room, kicking the door shut behind her.

The pillow caught Syndra on the face with enough force to flatten the sovereign on the bed once more. Syndra didn't more. Nor did she bother to remove the pillow from smothering her face. Beneath the fluffy white object, Syndra grit her teeth in pure anger.

"_Friends? What says I want those? What says I need them? What says I want your god damn apology? This is all your fault!_" Syndra thought to herself. Finally, she yanked the pillow off her face and threw her blankets over her entire body.

"_Damn__ Ionians..._" Syndra thought with contempt. "_Just wait... I'll kill you all..._"

With that, Syndra closed her eyes and continued to fume with anger until the freeing touch of sleep descended upon her troubled mind.

* * *

Unlike the sovereign, who found peace in sleeping, Irelia was restless. Aimlessly, the Ionian warrior stormed about the Institute of War with no particular destination in mind until she found herself standing outside her favorite bar, _The Blazin' Flintlock_. Irelia stood staring out at the bar's flashy illuminated logo for a good minute before actually realizing where she was. Blinking, Irelia tried to shake the feeling of unrest in her mind. Unfortunately, she barely even got the chance.

" 'Relia! My faaaaaaaavorite!" A loud and rambunctious voice suddenly spoke out from behind her. Before Irelia even got the chance to turn and look at the speaker, the voice's owner wrapped an arm around Irelia's lower back and almost carried the Ionian into the bar. However, Irelia caught the flash of bright red hair, instantly telling her who it was.

"Sarah! Stop that!" Irelia laughed as the pirate hunter essentially pushed her onto a stool in front of the bar's serving counter.

"Or else what hmm?" Miss Fortune teased. Playfully, Sarah's hand slipped down Irelia's back before quickly and deftly slapping Irelia hard across her rear end.

"H-HEY!" Irelia cried out, abruptly sitting straight up, startled by the unexpected playful harassment. Embarrassed, Irelia's face flushed red as she shifted uncomfortably and fixed Miss Fortune with a pouting look.

"Oho, don't give me that!" Miss Fortune said with a laugh. The pirate hunter advanced on Irelia again with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Nu-uh!" Irelia immediately countered, lightly slapping away Sarah's hands.

"Still got some fight eh? That's more like it!" The pirate hunter commented, still smiling. Irelia answered by making a playful grab at the saucy woman. Sarah easily danced backwards, out of reach.

"Nope!" Sarah quipped. She immediately spoke again in a taunting manner, "You couldn't have this even if you paid for it!" Miss Fortune teased, shifting her body weight from leg to leg, wiggling her hips tauntingly. Irelia rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.

"You're right. You would give it to me for free." Irelia countered, teasing back.

Miss Fortune pouted back before immediately smiling.

"Only for you." Sarah said with a smirk on her face. Turning around, the pirate hunter vaulted over the bar counter and landed on the other side, facing Irelia.

"So what's it gonna be today? The usual?" Sarah asked, glancing sideways at the Ionian as she pulled out a glass from underneath the counter.

"Uh... Sure..." Irelia replied airily, her eyes absentmindedly wandering about in search of something to focus on. Miss Fortune frowned slightly as she watched the Ionian. After half a minute, she set an ice blue drink down in front of Irelia. Instantly, Irelia brought her gaze down to the drink.

"That's not the usual..." She commented somewhat skeptically. She raised the glass and peered into the depths of the icy blue drink.

"Trust me girl, it'll help." Sarah replied, waving off Irelia's skepticism. Irelia's eyes flicked over to Sarah's face before refocusing on the drink.

"Not trying to knock me out in one punch are you?" Irelia asked half jokingly. Miss Fortune smiled wryly before nodding at the drink. Irelia obliged the bounty hunter and took a sip. Cold. Extremely cold. As the fluid trickled down Irelia's throat, she felt as though her insides had turned to ice. She shivered involuntarily before the feeling disappeared after a few seconds.

"So what is it?" Sarah questioned before guessing a few options, "Match cancellation? Country problems?"

Irelia didn't respond to any of the options, so Miss Fortune continued guessing.

"Family problems? Guy problems? Need relationship advice?"

No response.

"Girl problems?" Sarah finally asked, clearly running out of things to guess.

Finally, Irelia glanced up. Sarah gawked at her.

"Girl problems?" Miss Fortune repeated incredulously.

Irelia sighed and took another sip of the drink.

"You could say that I guess. Definitely not what you think it is though..."

"Oh..." Miss Fortuned answered, sounding disappointed. Sarah leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bar top and placing her hand atop her palms. "Well, all ears anyways!" the pirate hunter quickly replied, sounding eager to help the Ionian.

"Syndra..." Irelia finally muttered after a few moments of silence. Miss Fortune raised an eyebrow.

"Girl, you sure aim for the money. Mmmhmm... she's got guns that rival mine!" the pirate hunter commented. "Y'know I didn't know you were into that kind of thing... _exotic!_"

"Not like that." Irelia replied, frowning slightly and rolling her eyes.

"Right." Sarah quipped, "Continue?"

" She got hurt in the finals match because of some summoner error."

Sarah nodded knowingly.

"Afterwards, she killed her summoner."

Sarah pursed her lips and nodded again.

"Her magic got sealed away."

Sarah's jaw dropped.

"What?!" she asked incredulously. "Wow... Wait. Doesn't that like..." Miss Fortune paused for a second to organize her thoughts. "I thought you would have been happy about something like that?"

Irelia glanced at Sarah with a frown.

"I do not wish ill upon other people." Irelia stated flatly, displeased that the bounty hunter thought she would be happy about Syndra's punishment.

"So... You aren't happy? Why not? I thought you guys hated each other." Sarah questioned befuddled with Irelia's logic.

"I don't like her." Irelia replied bluntly. She took another sip of the drink and glanced off into the distance.

"But...?" Sarah pushed, intrigued.

"Well... I don't know, I visited her earlier to say sorry and..." Irelia swallowed uncomfortably, "I yelled at her instead." Irelia finished with a sigh.

Miss Fortune leaned back with a smile on her face.

"Feeling guilty?" Sarah questioned, already knowing the answer.

Irelia nodded mutely as she took another sip of her drink.

"Well then go apologize... Again..." Sarah replied simplistically.

"I would... But she only snapped at me the last time I tried that." Irelia muttered.

"Then don't let her rub you the wrong way!" Miss Fortune answered with a laugh.

"Easy for you to say." Irelia answered darkly, "Do you have any idea how... mean she is?"

Sarah stood up to her fullest height and planted her hands on her hips, fixing Irelia with an expectant gaze. Irelia glanced up and rolled her eyes in response.

"C'mon babe." Miss Fortune finally spoke up. Nimbly, the pirate hunter vaulted the bar's counter and landed beside the Ionian.

"Up ya go!" Sarah said with a devious smile, "Or I'll start having fun at your expense again!" Miss Fortune clasped her hands together with anticipation before making a shooing motion with both hands.

"Alright! Alright..." Irelia finally caved in, making exaggerated haste as though being touched by the pirate hunter was something she feared.

Miss Fortune gave Irelia a mock offended look, pretending as if she were disappointed that Irelia was escaping her grasp. After a few moments, the look was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Hey!" Sarah called out to the Ionian as she moved towards the door. "Don't forget."

Irelia nodded and moved towards the door.

"And also, since the finals ended in a tie, all of us win the prize. You should invite her!" Sarah hollered after the Ionian's figure.

Irelia waved a hand in acknowledgement. In her mind however, she remained skeptical. Inviting Syndra to a beach party where all of the other champions would be? That didn't sound like a good idea...

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Irelia found herself standing in front of the locked door to Syndra's room. Biting her lip, Irelia hesitantly raised a hand and knocked lightly on the door.

Silence answered her efforts.

Irelia frowned, worried that her outburst had done more damage than she actually though it did. She knocked again, slightly louder.

Again, no response.

With a deep breath, Irelia unlocked and slowly opened the door. A part of her expected to find a pillow or some other object to greet her face, but there wasn't even a sound from within the room. Finally, Irelia pushed the door entirely open and quietly moved into the room.

"Syndra...?" Irelia asked, hesitantly in a soft voice. As the Ionian stepped into the room, her eyes fastened on the lone figure laying curled up on the bed.

Syndra was asleep.

Unsure of what to do, Irelia quickly considered leaving the sovereign to her rest, but a sudden word from the mage instantly stopped her.

"No." Syndra muttered in her sleep. Restlessly, the mage shifted slightly on the bed. The movement brushed the blankets off her body as she turned her back towards the door and Irelia. Instantly, Irelia felt the lump in her throat return as she got a clear glimpse of the rune burned into the mage's back. Pushing her prior thoughts of leaving out of her head, Irelia moved to the one chair in the room and sat down quietly, watching the sovereign as she slept. Upon closer inspection, however, Irelia noticed several scratches on the sovereign's back in the area surrounding the rune. Irelia leaned back in her chair with a mixed expression on her face. On one hand, the warrior almost felt bad for the mage, though another part of her was still resentful of Syndra's toxicity. Her thoughts, however, were abruptly shoved aside when Syndra shifted again, mumbling more as she unconsciously scratched her back again, adding more lines to the damaged surface. Irelia cringed subconsciously as she watched the mage.

"_Ouch..."_ Irelia thought to herself. Alas, she set her personal thoughts aside and focused on her objective. Irelia sighed and settled into her chair. Unwilling to wake the resting mage, Irelia shut her eyes and folded her arms; letting her mind drift aimlessly while she waited. It could be a very long wait if the sovereign didn't wake soon... Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

"How long do I have to pretend to sleep until you leave me alone?" An unfamiliar voice finally startled Irelia out of her daze. Blinking, the Ionian looked up, searching for the speaker. Finally turning to gaze at Syndra, Irelia was momentarily startled to find the sovereign staring straight back at her.

"Oh.. . uhm... yeah..." Irelia stuttered, frantically searching for words to explain her presence. She found it difficult to form words after staring into the depths of the sovereign's deep violet eyes. "I was just uhm..."

"Just leave me alone already." Syndra interrupted unenthusiastically. Breaking her stare, the mage shifted an arm beneath her pillow to support her head while using her other arm to toss her blankets over her body. Bleary with sleep, Syndra accidentally tossed the blankets off the bed and onto the floor. Instantly, Irelia made a motion to retrieve the blankets for the sovereign, but Syndra reacted even faster. With immense annoyance, the mage leaned over the side of her bed and almost hurled the blankets back onto the bed before fixing Irelia with another one of her trademark glares. Finally, the sovereign buried herself underneath the mess of blankets and ceased all movement; clearly hoping to discourage Irelia from bothering her further.

Standing up from her chair, Irelia sighed and spoke up softly.

"I was just going to tell you that you are invited to the tournament celebration. It ended in a draw so we are all sharing the prize." Irelia concluded concisely. Moving to the door, Irelia stole one last glance at the mass of blankets. No movement, or hint of acknowledgement. Again, Irelia felt the guilt in her chest increase.

"Sorry about before. I didn't mean it." Irelia finally blurted out before hurrying out the door and closing it with a swift _click_.

...

...

...

Even though the Ionian had already left, Syndra mustered enough annoyance to mutter two words.

"Screw you..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Nothing Like Paradise (Part 1)**

"GAAAAAHH AHAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Gangplank bellowed as he merrily pounded his fist down on the wooden table he was sitting on. Beside the hearty pirate sat a large keg of his own moonshine and a small bag of oranges. There was a large group of champions from all over Runeterra clustered around the ocean side table, listening to the pirate's tale.

"ARHARHAR TELL EM WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!" The pirate demanded, still laughing.

"Well, you see, we thought Nami was some kind of fish, so after we caught her, we almost tried to cook her!" Miss Fortune continued. The entire rest of the group sitting at the table burst out laughing at that, save for Nami of course, who nervously shrank down, trying to hide her face beneath the table. Realistically, the story of their meeting with Nami was really not all that entertaining, but that was the miracle of alcohol. Everything suddenly seemed a whole lot more hilarious when everyone was beyond drunk. What made things even easier for them was the fact that the resort they were staying at insisted on "paying all of their expenses in full". In other words, there wasn't a limit to how much alcohol, food, or housing they wanted; everything was free for them to use.

Off to the side, Irelia turned her slightly flushed face to gaze at the merry crowd.

_So peaceful... If only it were always like this..._ The Ionian mused with a small smile on her face. Before she could allow her mind to wander further, however, a voice called out to her.

"Greetings, Irelia." A stoic, feminine voice spoke from behind her. Turning her head, Irelia blinked before her eyes focused and she gazed upon the Ionian before her.

"Oh! Uhm... Karma!... Didn't know you came!..." Irelia said sheepishly. She tried to hide her mug of beer behind her back as she turned, but the action almost caused her to trip. Karma chuckled at Irelia's efforts and quickly replied.

"It's okay Irelia, you should celebrate your accomplishments every so often." Karma concluded with a wry smile on her face.

Irelia laughed with appreciation of Karma's acceptance and turned back to the raucous group at the table, as Gangplank's obnoxiously loud laughter drew her attention once more. Leaning over the side of the table, Gangplank had caught Nami in a headlock, pulled her onto the table, and was pretending to take a bite out of her head. Everyone at the table seemed to find his antics incredibly hilarious. Everyone except Nami of course.

"Poor thing..." Karma commented, clicking her tongue in disapproval of the group's drunken behavior. Fortunately, Nami wasn't drunk enough nor was she defenseless enough to simply allow herself to be bullied around. Using her staff, she bopped Gangplank repeatedly on the head before using the item to slap the pirate hard across the face. The action immediately caused Gangplank to release Nami as her final strike launched him backwards out of his chair and down into a heap on the floor. Nami fled immediately, diving into the protection of the ocean. The other champions hardly seemed to notice as they were busy laughing at Gangplank. Absolutely drunk, Gangplank too joined in their laughter, completely unaware that he was the one being laughed at.

Irelia chuckled slightly with exasperation, mildly admiring the pirate's ability to entirely forget about his worries and embrace the moment.

"So... Karma..." Irelia started before clearing her throat and attempting to un-slur her speech, "What brought you here?"

"I am... looking out for the safety of my country." Karma answered concisely, clearly using her language in a manner to disguise the true nature of her attendance.

"You're keeping an eye on her." Irelia answered, seeing directly through Karma's guise despite being slightly tipsy with alchohol.

"Indeed." Karma replied. "Though I suppose I too need to indulge myself every so often..." she quickly added, seemingly producing a glass of wine out of nowhere.

Irelia smiled wryly at the enlightened Ionian before breaking her gaze and glancing off in the direction of a lone silhouette perched precariously atop a steep cliff of rocks overlooking the ocean below. Karma followed Irelia's gaze to the lone figure.

"She has been there since you arrived, I assume?" Karma asked, not breaking her gaze on the figure's silhouette. Irelia nodded mutely, but offered no words in response to Karma's inquiry.

"Did she... eat anything?" Karma added after a few moments of silence. Irelia shook her head, still not speaking. Karma sighed and pursed her lips into a thin line.

"Worried about her?" Irelia finally asked, seeming mildly surprised with Karma's attitude.

"I am not concerned about her. I am concerned for the people who put her in that position." Karma answered with a pointed look at Irelia.

"Wh-But I already apologized and everything!" Irelia answered hastily, taken aback slightly by Karma's almost accusative statement. Karma chuckled and smiled as she turned her gaze away from Irelia.

"I wasn't referring to you, Irelia, I was... referring to the summoners." Karma stated. "The sovereign is not one to take such punishment without taking her own vengeance. Even now, she is likely plotting... Scheming for some way to extract her revenge..."

After Karma finished her musing, Irelia turned to walked up to the counter of the beach front bar and motioned for the bartender to assist her.

"May I help you?" The man asked politely. Irelia nodded slightly before replying.

"Anything small to eat?" she inquired lightly. The bartender seemed slightly surprised with her request.

"I'm sorry, we do not have much of a selection at this bar, there is however an all you can eat buffet inside the resort." The bartender replied, making a slight gesture behind him in attempt to guide Irelia towards their dining area.

"Thank you, but I'm really just trying to get something small..." Irelia replied insistently.

"Uhm... well we do make small cold cut sandwiches here, I could prepare one for you if that would be to your liking." The man answered sounding somewhat confused with Irelia's desires.

"That would be perfect." Irelia replied immediately, prompting the man to turn and disappear into the area behind the bar. Irelia also left the bar, returning to Karma's side.

"So..." Karma paused "Alcohol makes you hungry?" she inquired lightly, trying to tease Irelia for her indulgence.

"It isn't for me." Irelia replied, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Oh?" Karma replied curiously, "Then who?"

Irelia answered by tossing her head in the direction of Syndra's silhouette. Karma raised an eyebrow in surprise, but before she could say anything, the bartender returned and addressed Irelia.

"Ma'am, your sandwich is ready." The bartender called out, proffering a plate with a neat cold cut sandwich perched atop its surface.

"Thank you." Irelia replied curtly. As the bartender turned to leave, Irelia glanced at Karma before speaking up.

"Hey, you were the one that brought up whether or not she ate anything." Irelia stated flatly. Karma answered with a wry half smile and a small exasperated shake of her head. With that, Irelia turned and left, slowly making her way down the beach to the cliffs where the sovereign sat alone. Karma, on the other hand, watched and smiled as the Ionian warrior carefully made her way, taking care not to trip or fall in her tipsy daze. Finally, Karma sighed and smiled further.

"Much to learn, Irelia... Much to learn..." Karma whispered to herself before finally turning and disappearing back into the resort.

* * *

Ascending the steps to the cliff top where Syndra was seated proved to be a challenge particularly when Irelia was already tipsy with alcohol. After a good ten minutes of slow progress and multiple close calls, the Ionian warrior finally arrived atop the cliffs. Now only a few meters behind Syndra, Irelia took a few calming deep breaths and blinked a few times, trying to focus her eyes through the cloudy haze of tipsiness. Syndra, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the Ionian approaching her.

"Hey..." Irelia called out from her position, trying to grab Syndra's attention.

Although Syndra knew who it was behind her, she pretended not to notice, hoping that her feigned ignorance would be enough to deter the warrior from bothering her. Of course, Irelia was far to persistent to be turned away with such a technique.

"Syndra..." Irelia called out again, taking a few steps towards the seated mage.

From behind the sovereign, Irelia could see the mage's shoulders a sag with exasperated annoyance.

"What do you want from me now, you balance obsessed fool?" Syndra demanded, turning her head slightly and fixing Irelia with a murderous glare through the corner of her eye.

Being partially drunk and unable to see entirely straight, Irelia didn't recognize the glare.

"I... uhm... brought you something to eat... since, like, y'know you've been sitting here all day and haven't eaten anything..." Irelia blundered forward cluelessly in one long run on sentence.

Syndra turned away with annoyance after having a clear glimpse of Irelia's face which was slightly flushed due to alcohol.

"I have no interest in eating your poison." Syndra stated flatly, implying that Irelia had done something to the food in order to cause further harm to her.

"Poison?..." Irelia asked, semi-coherently. "But it's just a sandwich..." She continued.

Syndra grit her teeth with annoyed anger. The alcohol was clearly starting to affect Irelia's cognitive abilities. With a grunt of disgust, Syndra snatched up a bottle from beside her leg and took a sip of the bright orange liquid inside.

"What's... that...?" Irelia asked, blinking furiously in attempt to get her eyes to focus on whatever it was Syndra was drinking.

Syndra ignored her.

With no further options, Irelia shuffled forwards to get a closer look at Syndra's drink. Vaguely, she was able to make out a bright red sticker and the word "fire".

"Ugh..." Irelia finally spoke up in mild distaste. "Fireball is disgusting. How can you drink all that?"

Syndra ignored her again.

With no reply from the sovereign, Irelia moved right up beside the mage, took a seat beside her, and attempted to take the powerful drink from her.

"Isn't that the strongest drink here? You shouldn't drink that much..." Irelia spoke up, her speech more coherent now.

With immense annoyance with Irelia's proximity to her, Syndra swung the drink out of the way of Irelia's reach.

"Don't ever tell me what to do." Syndra snarled as she rose from her position. In one final act of spite, Syndra lifted the bottle to her lips and downed the remaining liquid. It burned like an inferno as it travelled down her throat, but Syndra didn't let the pain show in her face, wanting only to prove Irelia wrong in every facet of her argument. After giving the seated Ionian another one of her trade mark glares, Syndra snatched the sandwich off of Irelia's plate and briskly turned on her heel, swiftly making her way down the steps to the beach. Unwilling to be left alone, Irelia too rose from her seat and started following the mage, until Syndra whirled on her and snarled angrily.

"Stay away from me. You reek of weakness." the sovereign spat nastily. With that, Syndra continued walking down the steps, stopping briefly only to tear off a piece of the sandwich and toss it down a crab hole in the rocks. After a few moments, a decently sized crab emerged from the hole with the piece of sandwich in its claw. From her position, Irelia thought she saw the barest of all smiles cross Syndra's face, but it was gone in an instant. Without further thought, Syndra took the rest of the sandwich and dropped it on the crab with a small bounce. The creature immediately dragged its prize down into the depths of its home. Finally, the mage continued down the steps and disappeared into the comfort of the resort, leaving Irelia alone to her thoughts.

* * *

_Hours Later..._

Irelia was the only champion that remained awake into the young hours of the early morning. With most of the champions passed out drunk or asleep in their own private rooms, Irelia alone sat in the darkness of the night. It was peaceful. Only the sounds of snoring and waves wafted through the night. But to Irelia, things were far less peaceful. Once again, she was unable to shake her mind from thinking about the potentially volatile situation she created when she asked the sovereign for her assistance. From her seat atop the resort balcony, Irelia sighed as she gazed out across the beach.

"_It's not my fault..."_ Irelia told herself, trying to convince herself that such a thing were actually true. Realistically, it really wasn't her fault at all. None the less, she still felt as though it was her that had perpetrated the series of events that created the situation as it was now.

"Ugh... Syndra..." Irelia muttered to herself. As if on cue, there was a sudden creak and click as the resort's front door opened and closed, allowing one individual to exit the building. Syndra. Peering over the railing of the balcony, Irelia gawked as her eyes settled on the sovereign. Syndra had changed out of her classic attire into a simple black summer dress which flowed loosely about her. Though she still wore her headdress and earpieces, the mage looked vastly different dressed in summer ware. Oblivious to Irelia's presence, Syndra left immediately, striding away in the direction of the cliffs she was at just a few hours before. Curious, Irelia rose from her seat and dashed down the stairs to the ground floor, quietly but quickly tailing the mage to her destination wherever and whatever it was.

Irelia finally caught up to Syndra just past the steps to the cliff overlook. However, to the surprise of the Ionian warrior, Syndra didn't take the path up. Instead, she continued walking past her favorite location and proceeded down a windy path just off to the side of the cliffs. Still, Irelia trailed the mage until finally, Syndra reached her destination. A secluded cove on the other side of the cliffs, hidden and protected from view by the large rock face. Irelia took a moment to embrace the serenity of the untouched cove before returning her attention to Syndra. The mage had finally reached the small patch of sandy beach which met the water's edge. Calmly, Syndra took a moment to breathe in the smell of the salty air, allowing the scent to relax her restless mind. Then, she did what Irelia never would have expected. Reaching up to her head, Syndra gently removed her headdress and earpieces, gently setting the three items down on a dry rock far from ocean's gentle waves. Free of both adornments, Syndra shook her hair out, allowing her long pure white hair to wave down about her in free flowing tresses. Syndra didn't stop there though, moving closer to the water, Syndra slowly shuffled forward until the ebb and flow of the ocean gently washed over her feet. Then, with a slow and deliberate motion, Syndra brought her hands to the neck tie of her dress, undoing the knot with a single swift tug. Instantly, the dress dropped away, revealing a modest black swimsuit.

Irelia stared in disbelief. Only one word crossed her mind. _Flawless._ Indeed, the term was an apt way to describe the mage. With her swimsuit clinging relentlessly to her body, the curves and flawless form of Syndra's body were accentuated to their fullest extent. Even the glowing rune engrained in the mage's back could do little to offset her natural beauty. Irelia stared... and continued staring long after Syndra had waded into the water and momentarily disappeared into the depths of the ocean. Irelia's eyes only able to track the mage by the faint glow of the rune burned into Syndra's back.

Minutes passed as Syndra gently glided her way about, more often than not just allowing herself to drift aimlessly in pristine water. Midway through, however, Syndra's gaze changed from peaceful to a hardened grimace. Irelia could only wonder as to what it was that had spoiled the mage's mood. She got an answer pretty quick. As she neared a flat rock near the side of the cove, Syndra reached out and gently lifted herself up onto the stone surface. Curling her knees to her chest and folding her arms around her legs, Syndra spoke out harshly.

"And how long will you spy on me." Syndra questioned dangerously.

Irelia froze instantly, thinking that Syndra had somehow noticed her despite the far distance between them. It wasn't her that Syndra was referring to though, it was another set of eyes.

Peaking out shyly from behind a rock near Syndra, Nami poked her head out to fix her large eyes on the sovereign. Syndra's gaze changed into a slight smirk as she recognized her victim from the rift match. Nami gulped apprehensively as she slid out from behind her rock into clear view.

"Well?" Syndra demanded threateningly.

Abruptly, Nami's demeanor changed from one of fear to one of extreme curiosity.

"Uhm..." Nami answered hesitantly.

"Uhm what? Out with it." Syndra spat with a frown.

Either Nami didn't recognize Syndra's tone as a threat or she thought Syndra was giving her permission to ask her question.

"What's it like?!" Nami asked childishly, her eyes shining brightly with expectation and curiousity.

Syndra was taken aback, completely unaware of what Nami was referring to.

"What is what like? Power? Power is fun!" Syndra answered with a gesture of her hands.

It was Nami's turn to frown, but the look passed in a matter of miliseconds.

"Not power... Feet!" Nami exclaimed excitedly. "Feet are so strange!"

Syndra's brow furrowed in absolute confusion.

"What do you mean what are feet like? What kind of idiotic question is that?" Syndra answered furiously, still quite clearly baffled by Nami's fascination with legs and feet.

Forgetting her prior apprehension, Nami swam towards Syndra until she was directly in front of the mage.

"Feet are weird! Why do you need feet when you could have one tail?" Nami inquired, her curiosity not diminished by the slightest amount. Nami swam circles around Syndra, trying to get a complete inspection of her legs.

"I am not some zoo animal for display!" Syndra snarled nastily, glaring at the mermaid.

"What's a zoo?" Nami asked immediately, her large eyes twinkling with even more curiosity.

Syndra grit her teeth with frustration.

"Quite clearly something you belong in." the sovereign replied insultingly.

Nami either didn't understand the remark or chose to ignore it altogether.

"What's this?" Nami asked, poking Syndra in the back, directly on the rune.

Immediately, Syndra's back arched, and her face contorted with pain. Nami instantly stopped the pressure, glancing curiously at Syndra due to the unexpected response to her prodding.

"I'm sorry did I hurt you?" Nami asked timidly.

"NOTHING CAN HURT ME." Syndra yelled at the mermaid, angry at both her persistence and childish curiosity.

Nami bit her lip and gazed at Syndra shyly, quite clearly unconvinced that she had not hurt Syndra by poking the rune. Still concerned, Nami spoke up again.

"Are you-"

"Yes I am fine. Quite. Fine." Syndra interrupted rudely.

"I can-"

"YOU HAVE TRIED MY PATIENCE ENOUGH FOR A DAY, FISH-THING! BEGONE!" Syndra in a loud and angered voice. She glared daggers at the mermaid, clearly expressing her desire for the mermaid to leave.

Nami shrank into the water until only her eyes were above the water's surface. After a few moments, Nami surfaced slightly so her mouth was above the water.

"Sorry..." She whispered meekly, though her eyes still shined with curiosity.

Furious with the mermaid, Syndra uncurled her legs and slid off the rock and into the water, swiftly making her way back towards the beach. Once she was back on dry land, she snatched her dress off the sand and immediately threw the garment back on her person. Finally, she replaced her headdress and earpieces before glancing back at the cove for any sign of Nami's presence.

There was none.

"Good riddance..." Syndra muttered and turned to leave.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello again everyone, thank you for reading and another thank you to those of you who have critiqued my writing, it is very much helpful in allowing me to figure out where to improve and what to do/what not to do. Hopefully the story isn't moving along too slow for you guys, I'm doing my best to build up the relationship between these two without making everything seem rushed. In other words, I'm trying to make things "natural". That is if "natural" even applies to this situation... Anyhow, there's a long ways to go as far as this story goes. We are probably only around 15% complete. Rest assured, things will pick up a little more and have some nice action as well as some other champions featured in the chapters to come.

Hope to see you all there and once again thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

******Nothing Like Paradise (Part 2)**

"Hey... wake up!" a voice gently jostled a sleeping Irelia.

Irelia shifted slightly and grumbled unhappily as her nap was interrupted. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open... Only to slam shut once more as the sun scorched her eyes.

"Ugh... Five minutes..." Irelia mumbled and rolled onto her stomach, folding her arms to make a pillow for her head. Unfortunately, whoever it was that was disturbing her beach side nap was persistent.

"Oh c'mon honey, your nap can wait. My fun cannot!" the same voice spoke up. This time, Irelia recognized it.

"Uh... Sarah... what do you want..." Irelia groaned, still trying to grasp at the fleeing straws of sleep.

From her position standing above Irelia, a large grin spread across the pirate hunter's face. Idly, Sarah hummed mischievously to herself as she silently knelt down beside the half-asleep Ionian. Carefully and stealthily, Sarah gently brushed Irelia's hair aside, revealing the knot behind her back that held her swimsuit in place. Finally, her grin ever widening, Miss Fortune pinched one of the loose ends of the knot and began pulling ever so slowly. Unable to withhold her own mirth, Sarah begin giggling louder and louder as the knot became closer and closer to being undone until finally-

"SARAH!" Irelia shouted, jerking to her side and clapping a hand down protectively across the rear knot behind her neck.

"There she is!" Miss Fortune exclaimed triumphantly, though she was visibly disappointed that she was unable to undo the knot completely.

"Cheater..." Irelia said sulkily as she refastened the knot securely. "What do you want anyway..." Irelia asked, quite clearly unhappy that her rest was disturbed.

"Girl, it's game time; and YOU are OUR team captain!" Miss Fortune declared.

Irelia sat up and rubbed the last vestiges of sleep out of her eyes.

"Game? What game?" Irelia inquired, still getting her senses straight.

Miss Fortune frowned and put a hand on her hip. Leaning down, she reached out and pinched one of Irelia's cheeks, guiding the Ionian's gaze to meet her own eyes.

"Beach volleyball, silly, how can you go to the beach and NOT play beach volleyball?!" The pirate hunter asked in a huffed up voice that almost sounded as though she were offended by Irelia's sleepiness.

Fortunately enough, Miss Fortune's pinching quickly restored Irelia's alertness.

"Beach volleyball?" Irelia echoed, managing to sound skeptical through Miss Fortune's grasp on her face.

"Yeah, beach volleyball!" Sarah declared firmly.

Before the pirate hunter could say more though, Irelia deftly reached up and swatted the woman's hand from her face.

"Asking politely would have worked better." Irelia teased, pretending as though she was going to refuse to play.

"C'MON GIRL!" Miss Fortune yelled in a loud voice. Undeterred, Sarah reached down to one of Irelia's arms and practically yanked the Ionian to her feet.

"Everyone's already waiting for ya!" Sarah spoke again happily. Suddenly, she dropped her voice for a dramatic effect, "Even _she_ is there." Miss Fortune added with a devious smile as she pulled Irelia towards the volleyball net.

Amidst the rough transit, Irelia managed to voice a question.

"And who is _she?_" the Ionian inquired curiously.

Sarah smiled and refused to answer directly.

"You'll find out soon enough, now stop resisting!" Miss Fortune replied, redoubling her efforts to pull Irelia towards the court.

Minutes later, Irelia found herself standing before a decently sized group of champions from mixed backgrounds. Sighing, she shook her head, wondering how she managed to allow herself to be pushed into such a position.

"C'mon girl, pick already!" Miss Fortune called from somewhere within the small group of champions. Irelia was unable to see her behind the mass of champions all milling about aimlessly, waiting for action.

"Alright... Sarah, get over here." Irelia muttered offhandedly, making it seem as though her pick was completely based on a whim even though it was most certainly not.

Seconds later, Miss Fortune stepped out and joined Irelia.

"Your turn Lee." Sarah called out as she reached Irelia's side.

Lee Sin nodded briefly in recognition before turning to the mass and raising a hand to his chin pensively.

"When did Lee get here, Sarah?" Irelia inquired as she watched the monk weigh his options.

Sarah laughed before speaking up, "He arrived earlier this morning along with some other people. Maybe if you were sleeping you would have seen them!"

Irelia rolled her eyes in answer.

"Your turn, will of the blades." Lee Sin's voice interrupted their conversation.

Irelia glanced over at Lee Sin to see Master Yi joining the monk's team.

"hmmm..." Irelia mused, unsure of who to pick next.

"You should totally pick her." Miss Fortune whispered in Irelia's ear.

"huh?" Irelia asked in reply, "Who?"

Miss Fortune smiled and pointed to a figure seated beneath the shade of a palm tree.

Irelia's jaw dropped in amazement, "No way..."

"I told you even SHE was here..." Sarah stated with a snicker. "She's a real sucker for games like volleyball or dodge ball."

Irelia answered with a hesitated silence.

"Oh c'mon girl, seize the moment!" Sarah whispered urgently. Before the Ionian could offer resistance, Sarah spoke up in a loud, strong voice.

"WE PICK SYNDRA!" Sarah yelled.

Instantly, all side conversations stopped and everyone turned their eyes to stare in shock at Irelia and Miss Fortune before hesitantly turning their eyes to gaze at the mage seated beneath the palm tree.

Needless to say, Syndra was just as surprised if not more so. Upon hearing her name called, Syndra's ear twitched as she lifted her head to glance at the speaker. Sarah met her gaze with a winning smile and a beckoning gesture. A mixed flash of emotions crossed Syndra's face as her displeasure with being forced to team up with an Ionian clashed with her desire to participate in one of the few sports she actually enjoyed. At long last, Syndra rose to her feet and shuffled mutely over to the two women awaiting her. She offered no words to them as she reached them and joined their ranks.

Unwilling to allow the sullied atmosphere to spoil the high spirits of the game, Lee Sin wasted no time hesitating over which champion to pick next.

"Fizz!" The monk said firmly with a smile.

"Whaho!" Fizz piped up and eagerly bounced forward to join Lee Sin's team. After high-fiving the trickster, Lee Sin glanced at Irelia, wordlessly encouraging her to follow his example.

"Uhm..." Irelia paused and gazed over the group. Briefly, her eyes settled on Karma and she almost spoke, "Ka- uhm..." She broke off mid-speech, realizing that selecting Karma as a teammate would further anger Syndra. Fortunately, Syndra was gazing off blankly at the ocean and apparently didn't notice.

"Nami." Irelia finally decided, giving the mermaid a kind smile. Nami floundered over to their all girl team and tried to catch all three of her teammates in a hug, but she only managed to catch Irelia and Miss Fortune. Syndra, on the other hand, backed away, disgusted with the notion of even touching the girly mermaid.

The rest of team selection was fairly uneventful. At the end, the two teams ended up being an unintentional men versus women match. Irelia's team consisted of Nami, Syndra, Sarah, Soraka, Irelia herself, and Ahri who had tagged along with Lee Sin in travelling to the resort. Lee Sin's team, on the other hand, consisted of Master Yi, Varus, Wukong, Fizz, and Gangplank.

Barely after the two teams had taken their respective sides with the net in between them, Miss Fortune snatched up the game ball and served the ball, sending it flying towards Lee Sin.

"LADIES FIRST!" Sarah yelled midway through her action, barely giving the opposing team enough time to react. Unfortunately, a deceptively alert Fizz instantly dived and launched the ball back up into the air before Miss Fortune's rather underhanded tactic scored her the first point. Scrambling to assemble themselves, the rest of Lee Sin's team dashed into position before Master Yi sent the volleyball back over the net with a powerful spike. Irelia barely had enough time to dive to the ground herself and dig the ball back up, sending the ball safely back into the air. Taking advantage of the air-time, Nami floundered into position before gently pushing the ball in the air, readying it for a perfect attack. Soraka took the opening and sent the ball flying towards Varus. Unfortunately, the archer was rather distracted. Amidst her team's possession, Miss Fortune caught Varus's eye and tantalizingly brought a finger down to the neck of her swimsuit, giving it a seductive tug. Varus unintentionally stared and was momentarily distracted. By the time he recovered, it was too late. Just as he snapped out of his trance, the ball bounced off of Varus's leg and touched the ground.

"NO!" Varus howled before glaring at Miss Fortune. "You cheater!" he accused, his face flushed with embarrassment. Miss Fortune giggled before high-fiving her team in celebration.

After their brief celebration ended, Lee Sin passed the ball back to Miss Fortune.

"HAH!" Sarah shouted, serving the ball again and resuming the game. This time, Varus was ready, catching the ball with a well placed strike that sent it upwards directly towards Lee Sin. Although Lee Sin was blind, he had long since surpassed the impairment. Tilting his ear slightly, the monk leapt into the air and placed a perfect strike straight in the center of the ball, sending it with blinding speed across the net.

"That's yours!" Irelia called out to Syndra. The mage grinned widely with anticipation as the ball travelled towards her. Temporarily forgetting about her condition, Syndra reached out towards the incoming ball and clawed her hand, willing her powers to collect. Midway through however, she was cruelly reminded that her powers had been stripped from her. Detecting the increase in magic collecting in the mage's body, the rune in her back activated, instantly sapping her power and releasing an electrical charge out of its surface.

"AH!" Syndra grunted in pain as her powers instantly dissipated and she dropped to a knee in shock. Glancing up, Syndra barely saw the volleyball before it smashed into her face, knocking her to the floor. Instantly, Irelia rushed to the mage's side.

"You okay?" the warrior asked, worried that the mage had been injured. She leaned over, offering a hand to help the mage to her feet.

Blinking away her surprise, Syndra's face twisted into a furious scowl. Without answering Irelia, the sovereign knocked away Irelia's hand and pushed herself to her feet, angrily brushing off the sand which stuck to her body.

"AH HARHARHAR!" Gangplank suddenly sounded, unable to withhold his mirth. Immediately, every set of eyes in the vicinity turned to the pirate, almost cringing as they knew something was definitely going to happen to him. Syndra glared at the pirate before realizing that several of the other champions around her were too withholding their own laughter. Humiliated, Syndra's face flushed crimson before she furiously snatched up the volleyball and drop-kicked the ball with all her might. The ball went flying with blurring speed straight into Gangplank's groin, instantly silencing him.

"UMPH!" the pirate wheezed as he grabbed his crotch and crumpled to the floor, huddling into a ball.

Before she had even seen the results of her actions, Syndra turned and stormed away, leaving the court without a backwards glance. Her face burned with the flames of humiliation, dulling every one of her emotions other than anger. So great was he anger that she didn't even notice the blood leaking out of her back where the rune had drained her.

* * *

_One Hour Later..._

Irelia's mind was a mess. Even though her team won the volleyball match, Irelia couldn't help but feel that a part of her had failed. Failed at trying to return any inkling of happiness to the sovereign. In fact, she had done the exact opposite; she had unintentionally humiliated her. As Irelia ascended the steps to Syndra's usual seat atop the cliffs, Irelia racked her brain for some way to start a conversation with the mage. Unfortunately, by the time Irelia had reached the top of the steps, no ideas had managed to surface in her mind. Now standing behind Syndra, Irelia allowed her wandering gaze to settle on the mage. Syndra was sitting with her legs hugged to her chest; her chin resting on her knees as she stared out at the ocean. Irelia swallowed her hesitation and pushed herself forward, finally mustering the will to speak.

"Hey..." Irelia called out. Inwardly, the Ionian wanted to smash herself over the head. _Hey? That's the best you could do? LAME!_ Irelia's conscience chided her.

Syndra ignored her and hugged her legs closer to her body.

It was then that Irelia noticed several purple streaks running down Syndra's back, originating from the rune in her back. They were definitely not there before.

"Hey." Irelia called out again, this time slightly louder. "You're bleeding..." Irelia spoke up, sounding mildly concerned.

Again, Syndra ignored the Ionian, but she did take a hand and run it over her back. The action caused the blood to smear across her back in an extremely messy manner. Finally, Syndra glanced briefly at the large amount of blood now on her hand before returning to her former position, acting as though nothing had happened.

From her position behind the sovereign, Irelia shifted awkwardly; her efforts to engage the mage in conversation failed miserably.

"Uhm... Well we won the match..." Irelia started, glancing at Syndra for some hint of recognition.

None was offered.

Finally, Irelia moved resolutely forward. Pulling a handkerchief from her pocket, Irelia knelt down behind the mage, intending to clean up the wound on her back. The moment she reached out, however, Syndra abruptly turned and slapped away her hand.

"Get. Away. From. Me." Syndra snarled in a low voice, punctuating each word for effect as she glared daggers at Irelia. Irelia swallowed hard before backing away slightly.

"I'm just trying to help out a little..." she said as she rose to her feet.

"I don't need your help! I am strong... I am powerful... Unlike you people who are weak and cling to each other for protection." Syndra spat viciously.

"But you're injur-"

"I DON'T NEED HELP." Syndra interrupted adamantly. "How long will you do this to me? Is my pain enjoyable to you? Do you relish in your plan's success to rob me of what is mine?! ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN BECAUSE I WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH." Syndra finished angrily.

"But-"

"I KNOW you picked me for that match to turn me into a laughable object for your 'friends'. Perhaps you will enjoy watching them DIE." Syndra again interrupted. It was clear that Syndra had no intentions of listening to Irelia's defense or reasoning. Before Irelia could even open her mouth to refute Syndra's accusations, the mage spoke again.

"You. Know. Nothing." Syndra spat, "Nothing about the burdens I bear. Nothing about the very lies you have convinced yourself to be true. Nothing about the hypocrisy of your very existence!"

With that, Syndra shot to her feet, whirled about her heel, and stormed down the steps to the beach.

Helpless, Irelia could only watch in defeat as Syndra stranded her yet again.

After several minutes had passed, Irelia finally sighed and shook her head before taking the same steps down from the cliffs.

"I know nothing...?" Irelia thought to herself. She frowned. It only took her a few moments to realize that the statement was indeed correct. She knew nothing about Syndra other than that Syndra was supposedly an enemy of Ionia. Nearing the bottom of the steps, Irelia glanced about, searching for the solution to her problem. Finally, she found it. Meditating underneath a palm tree sat Karma, deep in concentration.

"Let's get to the bottom of this..." Irelia muttered with short breath before swiftly making her way to the enlightened woman.

* * *

Irelia took a seat on the sand, across from Karma. As the enlightened one was still deep in meditation, Irelia folded her legs and closed her eyes, waiting patiently for Karma to address her. After a few minutes of silence, Karma finally spoke up.

"Irelia." Karma spoke up, nodding kindly at Irelia. "I sense... you have a great deal of questions."

Irelia smiled sheepishly, somewhat surprised that Karma was always able to predict what it was she wanted.

"Please, Irelia, it isn't hard to see your questions when your brow is so furrowed with thought..." Karma answered in response to Irelia's half-hearted amazement.

Again, Irelia chuckled and smiled at the floor before finally turning her gaze back to Karma.

"I don't know where to start." Irelia stated hesitantly.

"I do have time." Karma answered encouragingly.

Irelia took a deep, calming breath before finally speaking up.

"What is Ionia?" She asked vaguely. The question immediately drew a smile from Karma.

"A complicated question." Karma stated and took a deep breath. "By a standard definition, Ionia is our home. A land in which we all foster growth under the quest for eternal balance."

Karma paused briefly to glance at Irelia, checking to see if that was the answer that Irelia wanted. As expected, it was not.

"On a deeper level, however, Ionia is not just a country. Ionia is... an ideal."

Karma paused again and glanced at Irelia. The warrior was gazing straight back at her, rapt with full attention.

"The ideal we represent is that people can coexist. No matter how different we are, we can all stand under one goal and strive to reach that goal."

Karma knew what Irelia's next question would be even without Irelia asking it. None the less, the enlightened one allowed Irelia to ask it.

"What about the ones that do not adhere to our ideals?" Irelia inquired in a quiet tone. Karma took a moment to compose her answer before speaking.

"That is the beauty of our ideal. We do not force our ideals on others. We encourage them to find their own answer." Karma replied. Again, she knew where Irelia was going to go next, but she waited for the warrior to lead her there.

"Syndra." Irelia stated as a single word, not bothering to make it sound like a question, but rather using it to serve as a counterpoint to everything Karma had just told her. Although Karma knew that was where Irelia was going to go, she sighed in resignation none the less.

"Syndra..." Karma echoed quietly. Irelia thought she saw a pained look flash across the enlightened one's face, but she blinked and the look was gone.

It was now Karma's turn to ask Irelia a question. Turning her gaze to pierce Irelia's eyes, Karma stared into the depths of Irelia's eyes and spoke.

"What do you know of her?" The enlightened one inquired.

"She destroyed her village and killed our people. She even destroyed our land and seized it as her own." Irelia answered readily.

Karma sighed in response to her answer. Irelia noticed that Karma seemed unusually uncomfortable; a stark contrast to the usual serene aura that typically emanated from the woman.

"Irelia..." Karma started before hesitating slightly. "It is rare that I say this, but some things are best left untouched. The sovereign's history is one mired with the darkest secrets of our country. It is dangerous to speak of them."

Irelia was taken aback by that. Rarely did Karma ever refuse to answer a question as she was doing now. None the less, Irelia was not one to give up so easily. Without speaking a word, Irelia turned her gaze to her right, her eyes settling on Syndra who had seated herself atop the cliffs once more.

Karma immediately recognized the look. After seeing it several times, she knew full well that Irelia had already developed a mixture of guilt and pity for the mage.

"It isn't your fault, Irelia..." Karma started, trying to free Irelia of her remorse. "But at the same time, things are better this way... She is unstable, at least like this, we know she cannot harm someone by sheer whim."

Irelia's lips pursed into a thin line at that.

"And that is considered fair?" Irelia stated almost cruelly.

Karma stiffened at that, caught off guard by Irelia's abrupt change in attitude. Finally she sighed and answered simply.

"No..."

"Are we not being hypocritical then?" Irelia inquired firmly, sounding more as though she were stating a fact as opposed to a question.

Karma didn't answer until a minute had passed in silence.

"Irelia..."

"Yes?"

...

...

...

Finally, Irelia turned to head back to Karma. The enlightened one was gazing straight back at her with a very serious look in her eyes. It was clear that Karma was subtly conveying the severity of what she was about to say. After making eye contact, Karma didn't break their locked gazes as she spoke.

"Would you believe me if I told you what you know of Syndra's past is incorrect?" Karma inquired in a hushed tone.

Irelia was expecting that was the case, but she was slightly surprised regardless. Finally, she nodded.

Swallowing hard, Karma took a deep breath and spoke.

"Syndra... is among Ionia's darkest secrets. She is a stain that taints our country's history." Karma paused before continuing. "But it is not her who stained it."

Karma nodded her head slightly at Irelia for emphasis. Irelia didn't break her gaze.

"We were the ones that stained it." Karma finished decisively. Before Irelia could inquire further, Karma continued her explanation.

"The day Syndra became the being we know as the Dark Sovereign was the day we tried to take her powers from her." Karma stated flatly. Irelia raised her head in surprise.

"Our elders will tell you differently, but what they cannot deny is that WE struck first." Karma continued relentlessly. "WE never accepted her. WE never tried to teach her our values. WE tried to take away everything she had even before she had done anything to show that she deserved such treatment..."

A tense silence enveloped the two Ionians after that, neither one feeling comfortable with the knowledge that was just shared.

Finally, Irelia spoke.

"But if we know what truly happened, can we not make amends?" Irelia inquired hesitantly.

Karma didn't answer for a few moments.

"No..." Karma finally replied with a sigh. "She was young when we did this to her. The memories... the horrors... the betrayal that she went through is burned deep within her mind. If she were still a child, we could have attempted to overwrite those scars... heal the wounds in her soul. But a child she is no longer. She is a woman now, willful and set in her beliefs. Nothing we do can change her now."

With that, Irelia rose to her feet, bowing slightly to Karma in acknowledgement for her audience. Briefly, the Ionian warrior glanced at Syndra before turning and taking a step towards the cliffs. She was stopped only when Karma called out to her.

"Irelia..." Karma spoke, sounding worried. "Be careful..."

Irelia nodded in response, but her mind was already set.

If Ionia was unwilling to try to fix a problem, then she would be the one to fix it.

* * *

Irelia took her time ascending the steps to the cliffs. She was in no hurry to rush another confrontation with Syndra, and she needed time to sort out all the information Karma had given her. None the less, by the time Irelia reached the top of the steps, she still had much to consider. Brushing the mess of information in her head aside, Irelia focused on the mage in front of her. Syndra was not sitting at her usual spot. Instead, she had gone beyond the protective railing and was sitting dangerously on the very edge of the cliffs; her legs dangling off in thin air. Unwilling to go beyond the protection of the railing, Irelia called out to the mage.

"You really do like high places..." Irelia stated, doing her best to sound cordial and friendly. Irelia noted that the sovereign had done a rough, but suitable job of treating her injury.

Syndra visibly twitched at the sound of Irelia's voice, but chose not to entertain the warrior's statement and instead answered with her usual silence.

"Why do you like it up here so much anyways? You spend all your time here staring out at nothing..." Irelia asked, undeterred by Syndra's refusal to answer.

"Of course you see nothing." Syndra stated flatly, not bothering to turn her head in order to address Irelia.

Irelia frowned slightly at the statement, but quickly covered it with a cough.

"Then what do you see?" she inquired, trying her best to encourage Syndra to continue their conversation.

Syndra, however, only grew annoyed with her question.

"Look for yourself." Syndra stated in the same flat fashion. The mage swung her legs back up onto the cliff top and walked back towards the railing, subtly offering Irelia her position on the cliffs.

Subconsciously, Irelia attempted to swallow her fear. She was never a fan of heights, but this was a rare opportunity. Never before had Syndra offered Irelia anything, and even if this was an unintended offering, Irelia had little intentions of denying such an opportunity. Steeling herself, Irelia vaulted the railing and shuffled forwards, hesitantly. Finally, she reached the very edge of the cliff. Everything hit the warrior at once. The ocean breeze, the smell of the salty air, the bright glittering reflection of the sun glistening off of the churning waves. The beauty of the scenery could not be overstated. Irelia could see far out into the distance, all the way to the very distances where the sky and clouds seemed to fuse with the ocean. Subconsciously, Irelia took a deep breath, completely overwhelmed by the serenity of the landscape.

"Wow..." Irelia whispered, breathlessly. Behind her, Syndra smirked as she had subtly defeated the warrior's expectations.

...

...

Then Irelia made the mistake of looking down.

Instantly, the fear surged back into Irelia's mind. Standing at a dizzying height of easily a hundred feet above the ocean below, Irelia found herself momentarily stunned by the realization of the danger she had put herself in. Abruptly, blood rushed to her brain, temporarily blurring her vision as panic set in.

Syndra noticed the change and called out in an annoyed voice.

"Hey, idiot... get a grip..." Syndra chided offhandedly.

Irelia didn't notice. Teetering dangerously, the warrior found herself unable to break her stare at the frothing ocean below.

_God it is high up here..._ Irelia thought. With the fear and panic increasing in her mind, Irelia found herself uncharacteristically unable to move or act in any manner.

Finally, the last strands of control snapped in Irelia's mind. Caught completely stunned by the height she was standing at, a sudden gust of wind completely destroyed the last vestiges of balance Irelia had on her teetering perch atop of edge of the cliff.

Irelia slipped.

Before she even knew what was happening, the sharp rocks beneath the cliffs were approaching her at an alarming speed. Finally, Irelia snapped back to her senses. She was falling. Within a split second, Irelia calculated all possible methods of escaping her plight. Subconsciously, Irelia called out to her blade, intending to use it as a platform to catch herself. From the corner of her eye, Irelia saw the blade flash from its position on the beach, flying with blinding speed towards her.

But it wasn't coming fast enough. Irelia's eyes dilated in panic as she realized her only hope of rescue was doomed to fail. _This is how it ends?_ Irelia asked herself, horrified to face the fact that her life was about to end in such a crude manner. _NO! _Irelia screamed in her mind, _NO NOT LIKE THIS!_

As all hope seemed lost, Irelia closed her eyes in preparation for the inevitable.

Only it never came.

Instead of smashing into the sharp rocks below, Irelia instead felt a different sensation. Just as she had closed her eyes, an invisible hand smashed roughly into Irelia's side, sending her sprawling sideways in an inglorious manner. The push was just enough to propel Irelia off to the side and safely into the open ocean.

_-SPLASH!_-

Irelia smacked into the ocean with an unpleasant sounding clap. Instantly, Irelia felt the right side of her body surge with pain as she ungraciously broke the water's surface. Seconds later, she surfaced, coughing and spitting out water as she did her best to shake off the sense of terror that still lingered in her mind. Unable to even think straight, Irelia instinctively swam back to shore. When she finally reached the sandy beach, the warrior dragged herself onto the safety of land where she collapsed, gasping for air.

A few meters away from her, several of the champions were all murmuring in indiscriminate conversations that Irelia couldn't make out. Catching her breath, the Ionian warrior finally mustered enough strength to glance up at the various champions. They were all pointing and looking at the direction of the cliff top. Weakly, Irelia followed their gaze to the cliffs where her eyes fixated on a crater in the cliffs that was definitely not there a few minutes before. Only seconds after she had focused her eyes on the crater, six beams of light shot down from the sky; an indication of an incoming teleportation. Another few seconds later, six robed summoners emerged from the beams of light, encircling the crater.

Finally, Irelia realized what had happened. Scrambling to her feet, Irelia sprinted back up to the cliffs, leaping up the steps several steps at a time. Pushing her way into the circle of summoners, Irelia fixed her eyes on the one figure laying at the center of the crater. In a pool of purple liquid lay an unconscious Syndra. Beside her, a single rune lay on the side of the crater, cracked in half and chipped in several places. Abruptly, one of the master summoners spoke up.

"I knew we couldn't trust her. We should have expected this to happen." He said coldly. The other summoners nodded mutely in agreement.

"No" Irelia spoke up suddenly.

All of the summoners turned to he. They seemed both shocked to find her there and surprised with her disheveled appearance.

"Uhm... pardon?" The head summoner asked, eyeing Irelia quizzically.

"No..." Irelia repeated.

"She just saved me."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Whew... five thousand word chapter... longest one to date. Hopefully this isn't too long or boring of a chapter, but I wanted to get done with this "paradise" section of the story. Back to the Institute for the next couple chapters where we will finally see the relationship between Irelia and Syndra grow.

As always, thank you all for reading and I hope to see you in the chapters to come!


	6. Chapter 6

**Powerless**

If waking up with one rune burned into her back was bad, waking up with three was anything but better. As Syndra's eyes fluttered open, she felt an annoyingly familiar throb of pain course through her back. With each pulse of her heart, Syndra felt as though someone took a hammer and struck her across the back. The one bright side? The rest of her body was undamaged. Only her back pulsed with pain.

Wincing in pain, the sovereign pulled herself into a sitting position before gingerly sliding her legs off the side of the bed and down onto the floor.

Floor.

Tiled, white floor.

Institute of War Hospital floor.

Syndra sighed with annoyance and glanced around her, observing her room. It was nothing spectacular. Plain, holding only the barest of needs for a simple hospital room. Finally, Syndra rose from the bed and took an step towards the door. Her legs almost buckled under her, but Syndra managed to steady herself by placing a hand supportively on the table beside the bed.

Drained.

Weak.

Syndra grimaced, disgusted by the poor condition she was in. With the three runes in her back, almost all of her powers were sealed away, draining her of her primary source of energy. After a few moments, Syndra recomposed herself and again pushed herself towards the door. Her sense of balance restored, she slowly made her way to the door, reaching for the doorknob and freedom. Alas, she was not allowed to even touch the door. The moment her hand entered the space a few inches away from the doorknob, a strong magical barrier materialized around the entire door. Syndra stopped and scowled, her temper spiking. Even with the three runes nullifying the entirety of her powers, the summoners had the nerve to seal the door with a magical barrier that would prevent her from leaving. A simple lock would have served the same function as she was in no condition to force her way out. None the less, they found it necessary to seal her within the confines of the room. Furious, Syndra balled her hands into fists and whirled on her heel, returning back to her bed.

"_How dare they spite me..._" Syndra thought venomously, gritting her teeth with pure rage.

Forgetting about her poor physical condition, Syndra roughly grabbed the side of her bed and shoved the bed until it struck the side wall of the room, directly underneath the one window that illuminated the room with the moon's pale white glow. Even further drained by the physical action, Syndra plopped herself back down on the bed before curling her legs underneath her and gazing out of the window and into the moonlit night. Swiveling her head, Syndra flicked her eyes across the various citizens of the institute, bustling about and enjoying the city's night life. Syndra scowled, subconsciously envious of the freedom they enjoyed while she alone remained locked within the confines of her prison.

After a few minutes, Syndra's mind began to drift. With nothing to entertain herself with, she grew rapidly bored of watching the brainless weaklings milling about outside her window. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, a knock on the door interrupted her solitude.

"What." Syndra snapped annoyedly.

The door creaked open after Syndra had spoken. Apparently the person on the other side thought "what" was a form of giving one permission to enter. Expecting a doctor or nurse to enter the room, Syndra turned her head slightly so she could gaze at the doorway out of the corner of her eye. It was no nurse or doctor. Instead, it was Irelia.

"Hey..." Irelia called out in a mildly subdued voice.

"I said what. I didn't say you could enter." Syndra said haughtily.

"Oh..." Irelia replied, sounding slightly dejected. "Sorry..."

That surprised Syndra. She wasn't expecting the Ionian warrior to admit fault so readily. Turning around atop her bed, Syndra shifted her position until she was facing her visitor. Syndra said nothing; only staring balefully into the warrior's eyes.

Irelia shifted her weight from leg to leg, uncomfortable under the sovereign's piercing stare.

"I... Uhm..." Irelia started, but hesitated, unsure of how to begin. She glanced up at Syndra for some sort of recognition, but Syndra gave her nothing. Only her baleful stare.

Again, Irelia shifted her weight and tapped the toe of her boot on the floor awkwardly.

Syndra continued staring.

"You saved me." Irelia finally blurted out, unable to stand the weight of Syndra's staring. After a few moments, Irelia added "... right?"

Syndra frowned immediately and released her stare on Irelia.

"Save you?" Syndra asked, "HAH! Good one."

Baffled, Irelia's brow wrinkled and she took a small step back.

"It wasn't you then?" Irelia asked, "Then who-"

Irelia broke off abruptly, folding her arms and bringing one hand up to her chin in deep thought.

"No. It was definitely you." Irelia spoke up decisively. "I've felt that push before in the rift matches where I fought against you. It WAS you!"

Before Syndra could speak up again, Irelia followed up her conclusions with further evidence.

"That's why you were unconscious at the cliffs. You ripped the rune out of your back to regain your powers and stop me from... from..." Irelia let her voice trail off, unwilling to face the fact that she almost died a mere twenty four hours ago.

"Whatever." Syndra finally replied with a wave of her hand, unwilling to admit that she had helped the Ionian.

Irelia, however took the one word as admittance of guilt; confirming her suspicions that Syndra had indeed saved her life.

"Why?" Irelia asked softly, curious as to why the mage went to such extremes in order to preserve her life.

"What you do mean WHY?! I just told you I didn't save you." Syndra snarled.

"Don't lie to me. I know it was you. Why?" Irelia asked firmly, demanding an answer from the mage.

Frustrated with Irelia's persistence, Syndra grit her teeth and smashed a fist into the bed she was sitting on.

"I did what I felt like doing!" Syndra finally spat with extreme annoyance. "You Ionians never know when to just shut up!" Syndra added, quite clearly aggravated by Irelia's perseverance.

What Irelia did next, however, completely caught Syndra by surprise.

Rather than gloating over her victorious argument, Irelia instead knelt down on one knee and folded one arm to her chest, bowing her head to the sovereign in traditional Ionian salute.

"Thank you." Irelia said, her voice subdued and humble.

"You-... I-... but-... WHAT!?" Syndra finally sputtered in complete and utter surprise at the sudden change in attitude from Irelia. The shock caused Syndra's face to flush red with embarrassment.

"Thank you. For saving my life." Irelia repeated, still fixating her eyes on the floor. "I am indebted to you." Irelia continued before finally rising to her feet once more and meeting the sovereign's gaze.

Finally, Syndra recovered from her shock slightly and spoke up again.

"I have no use of debt from a weakling such as yourself." Syndra shot at Irelia, clearly unwilling to accept such a humble gesture from the Ionian. "Perhaps if you weren't so stupid and helpless you wouldn't have needed saving in the first place!" Syndra added quickly, trying to disguise her discomfort by firing rude remarks at Irelia.

Irelia, however, took no offense to the rude comments, forcing herself to remain calm and thankful to the mage that saved her life.

Upon failing to provoke Irelia, Syndra frowned slightly and shifted herself so that she was no longer facing the warrior; instead returning her gaze to the window and the world outside. The action brought Syndra's exposed back into clear view of Irelia's gaze. The warrior couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat as she realized the one rune in Syndra's back had been replaced with three. Closer inspection revealed that part of her back was wrapped rather hastily with bandages. Bandages that were stained purple by Syndra's blood.

"_Overkill..._" Irelia muttered to herself.

"What?" Syndra snapped, catching wind of Irelia's words.

"Oh... uhm... nothing..." Irelia stuttered, surprised that the sovereign heard her and chose to speak as opposed to just ignoring her. With that, Syndra turned her heard and glanced at Irelia through the corner of her eye, meeting Irelia's gaze before flicking her eyes in the direction of the door.

It was a clear gesture that told Irelia it was time to leave.

With a disappointed sigh, Irelia turned and started moving towards the door. However, she paused once she reached the it.

"I'll get you something to eat. You're hungry right?" Irelia offered hopefully. Syndra was unconscious for at least twenty four hours, so Irelia already knew the answer to her question.

Regardless, Syndra didn't answer.

"Be back in a few..." Irelia finally muttered before swiveling about her heel and striding out the door.

* * *

When Irelia returned exactly one hour after she had left, Syndra had not moved a centimeter from her position. She did, however, glance behind her briefly when Irelia knocked and entered the room, carrying a bag of delicious smelling takeout food.

Uncomfortable with the scent of what was probably stir fry or some type of barbecue, Syndra shifted atop her bed. Beside her, on the table next to the bed sat a plate of hospital food; mashed potatoes and a bowl of soup. It was untouched; and when Irelia moved up to the table to move the dishes aside, they were cold. Irelia couldn't help but subconsciously frown. Syndra was refusing to eat, like some spoiled child that was throwing a tantrum after not getting what she wanted.

"Not hungry?" Irelia questioned lightly, trying to start a conversation once more.

Syndra didn't answer. Nor did she turn around to meet Irelia's gaze. She did, however, scowl at the window for no particular reason.

"I'll just leave this here then..." Irelia sighed, somewhat annoyed with Syndra's refusal to acknowledge her presence.

"I don't want it." Syndra finally whispered.

"What?" Irelia asked immediately, unsure if the mage had even spoken.

"I said I don't want it." Syndra repeated, slightly louder.

Irelia placed a hand on her hip and eyed the back of Syndra's head skeptically.

"Why not?" Irelia asked, sounding almost offended. There was no way that she was going to let Syndra refuse her gift after she had gone so far out of her way to get the mage food.

"I don't feel like eating your poison." Syndra stated flatly, sounding bored.

"For the love of god, I have never poisoned food and I would never use such an underhanded tactic." Irelia replied, rolling her eyes with exasperation.

"I'm not hungry." Syndra answered in the same flat voice.

The mage immediately regretted lying however, as her stomach grumbled audibly, demanding that Syndra satisfy her body's need for nourishment.

Syndra froze instantly, hoping that Irelia didn't notice.

No such luck.

Behind the mage, Irelia couldn't help but smile. Although Syndra walked the line between that of a monster and that of a woman, there was no denying the fact that even she couldn't ignore her basic needs as human. Unable to withhold her own growing mirth, the smile on Irelia's face grew larger and larger until she finally broke down and let out a muffled giggle; stifling her own laughter by clamping a hand over her mouth.

Syndra's whipped her head around and glared at Irelia. Even in the pale light of the moon, Irelia could see that Syndra's face was flushed, red with humiliation yet again.

"Sorry..." Irelia gasped, struggling to contain her laughter.

Syndra's face twisted with a mix of anger and humiliation, giving her the look of some sort of wounded animal.

"Sorry..." Irelia repeated, this time her speech was more coherent. "It's just... really... uhm... _cute..._"

If Syndra's face could flush anymore, it would have. For the second time in a mere few hours, the mage found herself yet again completely thrown off and caught off guard by Irelia.

"C-C-CUTE!?" Syndra howled furiously.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME! PERHAPS YOU WILL STILL THINK I AM CUTE WHEN YOU LAY DEAD AT MY FEET!" Syndra roared.

Unable to bear Irelia's presence before her, Syndra whirled around and refocused her gaze out the window; doing her best to quell her discomfort.

Irelia hesitated. Unsure of how to proceed after the sovereign's outburst, Irelia awkwardly stood in the middle of the room, trying to find the best course of action.

"I'll just... uhh... want me to heat this up for you then?" Irelia asked, referring to the food she had just brought.

Syndra ignored the warrior, choosing instead to hug her legs to her chest and continue staring out the window.

Awkwardly, Irelia stared at the mage's back, waiting for some sort of response from the mage. When none was given, Irelia sighed again in disappointment. However, a small blur of movement on the sovereign's back quickly drew Irelia's eye. Refocusing her gaze on the Syndra's bandage wrapped back, Irelia watched as a small trickle of blood leaked out of the bandages and raced down her back until it came to an abrupt end on the white bed sheets; leaving a dark purple stain on the sheets.

Irelia's brow furrowed quizzically.

"_She's still bleeding?_" Irelia wondered.

Moving forward, Irelia quickly closed the distance between her and Syndra until she was right beside the bed and within arm's reach. Syndra visibly tensed up as she felt the warrior close in upon her, but she had no means of resistance. She could only endure.

Finally, Irelia took a breath and reached out, gently laying a hand on Syndra's shoulder. Instantly, Syndra jerked away, trying to escape the physical contact. But Irelia's hand followed her.

"Relax..." Irelia muttered, trying to get a closer look at the bandages.

Syndra froze, realizing that nothing she did would allow her to escape the warrior's touch.

Slowly moving her hand down Syndra's back, Irelia's fingers briefly stopped at the three fresh runes engrained in Syndra's flesh. Irelia unconsciously swallowed and bit her lip as she got a close look at the runes.

"Does it hurt?" Irelia inquired mutely.

"Nothing can hurt me." Syndra answered through gritted teeth; clearly displeased with the fact that Irelia was examining her.

Irelia could tell by the tone in Syndra's voice that she was lying. The runes were undoubtedly a great source of pain. With a subdued sigh, Irelia lifted her fingers off of the runes and moved her hand down to the bandages. The moment she did so, the bandages gave off a disgusting squelch.

"Ugh!" Irelia gasped, surprised and horrified by the sound.

Instantly, she removed her hand from the bandages and looked down at her palm. It was covered in blood.

"God!" Irelia exclaimed. She glanced back up at Syndra, then back to her hand, then back to Syndra again.

"Did you get treated?" Irelia demanded almost forcefully.

Syndra ignored her.

Irelia stared in astonishment, taking Syndra's silence as a no.

"Why weren't you treated?" Irelia demanded again.

"I don't need help." Syndra spat sullenly. "And I don't need yours either!" she quickly added.

Irelia, however, ignored the sovereign's remarks and untied the knot holding the bandages across Syndra's back.

"Stop it. I don't-" Syndra's voice broke off mid speech as she suddenly gasped; her eyes widening in shock as pain scorched through her entire back like a wildfire eating up a dry forest.

_"So much for that..._" Irelia thought to herself as she continued untying the bandages despite Syndra's protests. With Syndra continuing to resist her efforts, Irelia finally spoke up.

"I'm treating you whether you want me to or not. You might as well just stop fighting back." Irelia stated flatly as she deftly whipped the soaking wet bandages off of the mage's body. Finally, Syndra acknowledged the truth to Irelia's statements and allowed the warrior to continue without resisting.

Irelia worked deftly and swiftly. Though she was no nurse or doctor with medical training, Irelia was more than just proficient at first aid. Years of battle gave her plenty of opportunities to hone her abilities with fast medical treatment. After undoing the bandages, Irelia strolled over to the one sink in the room and pulled a towel out of a nearby cupboard. She then dampened the towel lightly and returned to Syndra's side, gently wiping off the smeared stains of blood on the mage's back. When she felt like she had done a suitable job, Irelia tossed the towel back into the sink and strolled over to a different cupboard where she pulled out a jar of disinfectant gel.

Syndra glanced at the jar and immediately shot Irelia a look that clearly stated "Not a chance in hell".

"It'll speed things up. Trust me. You wanna get out of here faster? This is your ticket." Irelia stated, wiggling the jar around in the air.

Syndra grimaced and grit her teeth with ever growing rage.

"Fine." She finally spat and turned back to the window.

Once again, Irelia moved to Syndra's side and brushed aside the mage's long pearly white hair. Finally, she unscrewed the lid to the jar and sank her fingers into the gooey gel before digging out a small chunk of disinfectant. Without an ounce of hesitation, Irelia plopped the mass of gel onto Syndra's back and gently smeared the substance across her back, taking care to evenly spread the disinfectant while not applying too much pressure as to cause Syndra pain. At long last, Irelia set aside the jar and pulled out a fresh roll of bandages, swiftly unraveling the roll and deftly wrapping the fresh white bandages about Syndra's midriff and back.

"There. Done." Irelia stated with a certain amount of satisfaction. "Better?"

As expected, Syndra didn't reply. However, Irelia could tell just from the mage's body language that she was visibly more comfortable than before. Smiling to herself, Irelia finally rose to her feet and quietly moved to the door, pausing only to take one last glance at Syndra.

"See you tomorrow." Irelia whispered in a voice that she was sure Syndra couldn't hear.

With that, Irelia strode out into the hallway and shut the door behind her with a gentle -_click_-.

The moment Irelia's hand released the door, however, a firm yet gentle hand reached out and pulled her to the side. Startled, Irelia stumbled slightly before regaining her balance and whirling on the person who had grabbed her. It was Soraka.

Wide eyed with amazement, Soraka stared at Irelia in wordless disbelief for several seconds until Irelia finally spoke up.

"Uhm... Hey Soraka?" Irelia questioned, furrowing her eyebrow in half hearted confusion with the star child's abrupt disturbance.

"That was amazing!" Soraka finally managed to blurt out. "YOU are amazing!" The star child continued, her eyes shining with admiration.

"Sorry, what?" Irelia asked dumbly, completely befuddled by Soraka's compliments.

"You managed to bend her will somehow!" Soraka exclaimed; her admiration not diminished by the slightest amount.

"Oh..." Irelia spoke up, finally understanding that Soraka was referring to her treatment of Syndra.

"I didn't really bend her will y'know... I just helped someone that needed it..." Irelia stated in a matter-of-factly manner. "Thanks though... I guess..." Irelia quickly added, smiling at the starchild.

Soraka, however, didn't return her smile. Instead, her expression changed from amazement to subdued seriousness. Recognizing the look, Irelia cleared her throat uncomfortably before speaking up again.

"I'll catch you later Soraka." Irelia stated as she turned to leave.

"She's afraid of you."

Midway down the hall, Irelia stopped and glanced back at the healer.

"What?" Irelia asked, unsure if she heard Soraka correctly.

"I said she's afraid of you." Soraka repeated, meeting Irelia's gaze with a very serious expression. "Be careful, Irelia... Syndra has very few fears."

Irelia turned around and gave Soraka a skeptical gaze.

"She has little things to fear because she destroys anything that she fears." Soraka continued in explanation. Finally the healer sighed and smiled again at Irelia.

"Be careful... okay?" Soraka called out, doing her best to sound cheerful again.

Irelia smiled back wryly before replying.

"Don't worry about me." Irelia answered confidently.

With that, Irelia turned on her heel and continued making her way out of the hospital. It wasn't until she was out on the street that Irelia finished her statement.

"I hope..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello everyone. I know it's a little bit weird for me to be uploading another chapter so quickly, but this week is lining up to be one in which I will definitely not have enough time to write another chapter. That being said, I went ahead and finished up this one in expectation for the next chapter being slightly delayed. As always, thank you all for reading and another thank you for your continued support for this story. Little bit more hospital to go then things will really start to take off.

Hope to see you all in the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Fracture**

_"Your growth is impressive, Syndra. Never before have I seen such a mage with so much innate talent before."_

_"Thank you... Master... I have learned much from you."_

_"And I trust that I will continue to see such progress from you."_

_"Yes master."_

_..._

_"Syndra?"_

_"..."_

_"Syndra."_

_"...Yes master?"_

_"I feel as though something is bothering you."_

_"..."_

_"Speak, young one, your master will answer your questions."_

_"..."_

_"No?"_

_"..."_

_"Perhaps another time then?"_

_"What have you done to me."_

_"Pardon?"_

_"What have you done to me?"_

_"My child, we have done nothing to you. We have only taught you how to properly use your abilities."_

_"..."_

_"Come Syndra, you can trust us."_

_"Then what have you done to me."_

_"We have done nothing to you, my child..."_

_"You're lying. Your pulse is racing. Your collar is damp with sweat. Your eyes are dilated... Dilated with fear..."_

_"I...I- We have done nothing! I swear on behalf of my honor!"_

_"You lie."_

_"Syndra, we-"_

_"Release me."_

_"..."_

_"Release me."_

_"..."_

_"I SAID RELEASE ME! NOW!"_

_"I cannot do that, Syndra. Not until you have learned restraint and control."_

_"HOW DARE YOU SHACKLE ME!"_

_"Syndra. Stop this. Now."_

_"I AM IN CONTROL! YOU ARE JUST JEALOUS THAT YOU LACK THE ABILITIES I HAVE!"_

_"Syndra. I said stop this."_

_"I WILL NOT BE RESTRAINED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"_

_"SYNDRA! If you refuse to stop this instant, I WILL seal your powers entirely!"_

_"YOU DARE TO THREATEN ME!? YOU DARE BETRAY ME!? I HAVE DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE THIS TREATMENT! I WHO HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT USE THE GIFTS THAT HAVE BEEN BESTOWED UPON ME! I TRUSTED YOU!"_

_"And you should trust me still, Syndra."_

_"Then release me!"_

_"I cannot do that."_

_"..."_

_"Syndra... You can trust me... Your powers will be returned to you once you have learned control... Once you have learned restraint."_

_"..."_

_"I have done nothing to deserve this."_

_"This is but a precaution."_

_"Release me."_

_"No."_

_"Release. Me."_

_"No."_

_"THEN DIE! TRAITOR!"_

_"Syndra! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! NO!"_

* * *

Syndra's eyes snapped open the moment she watched her former master die at her mercy. A frown crossed the sovereign's face as she bitterly recalled the memories of her betrayal. Sighing, the mage swiveled her head about, glancing about her. Again, she frowned; she was still in the hospital. The images she had seen were but a dream. Syndra glanced at the clock mounted on the wall off to her right.

8:30 PM.

Another day had passed.

Another day in which sleep eluded the sovereign's grasp. With the excessive amount of runes ingrained on her back, the thought of even laying down in hopes of rest were but a fantasy. Even when the tantalizing sands of sleep drifted into Syndra's consciousness, only the nightmares of her past were there to greet her. Syndra didn't know why those wretched memories of betrayal were surfacing now; neither did she care. All that mattered was-

-_Knock-Knock-Knock-_

Syndra stopped mid thought and turned her weary gaze to the door.

"What..." Syndra finally spoke, her voice rather quiet with her lack of rest.

"Umm... Can I come in?" A muffled voice spoke out from the other side of the door.

Syndra immediately recognized the voice. It was Irelia. Again. Despite being exhausted, Syndra mustered enough energy to frown in annoyance.

"No." She finally muttered. Her voice barely audible.

On the other side of the door, Irelia strained to hear the mage's reply. Alas, the sovereign had spoken too softly for Irelia's ears to pick up.

"I'm coming in alright?" Irelia finally spoke up and slowly pushed the door open.

Darkness met Irelia's eyes as she entered the room, closing the door behind her with a soft _click_. In the pale light of the moon, Irelia could vaguely make out Syndra's figure sitting in the same exact position as she was the day before; directly underneath the one window in the room.

"Why are all the lights off?" Irelia inquired lightly, trying to strike up a conversation.

Syndra ignored the warrior and muttered a question of her own.

"What's the point of asking if you can enter if you're going to enter regardless of what I say...?" Syndra questioned dully.

"Oh..." Irelia started, quickly assuming that Syndra had denied her entry into the room despite not hearing such a reply. "Sorry..." Irelia quickly added, hoping to diffuse Syndra's anger had her entry caused the mage to develop such an emotion.

Either way, Syndra lacked the energy to even reply to Irelia's apology. Instead, the mage turned her back to the warrior and refocused her haggard gaze back to the stars outside.

Awkwardly, Irelia cleared her throat and plopped herself down on a chair while her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room.

"So... feeling better?" Irelia asked, doing her best to sound friendly.

Per usual, Syndra ignored her.

"They said you weren't eating..." Irelia started, glancing at Syndra's back for some hint of recognition.

As usual, there was none.

"...So I brought you more food..." Irelia continued, clearly uncomfortable with the cold-shoulder Syndra was giving her.

Syndra heard the rustling of a plastic bag as Irelia placed the bag of food on the table.

Silence ensued for a minute as Irelia searched frantically for another topic to talk about. Though nothing came to her mind, Irelia quickly noticed Syndra's head slowly nodding off.

At long last, Irelia's eyes adjusted to the darkness well enough that she could make out the details of Syndra's form. From her position, Irelia could only see the mage's tangled mess of hair and slouched posture.

Abruptly, the runes on Syndra's back flashed, causing the mage's head to snap back up and dispelling the cloud of sleep that was descending upon her. Wearily, Syndra sighed and glanced behind her. She was briefly startled to find Irelia sitting behind her, but quickly remembered that the warrior had just entered the room. It quickly became clear that Syndra had not caught any amount of rest in the time that Irelia was gone.

"You look... Terrible..." Irelia finally spoke up after catching a glimpse of the sovereign's face. Even in the pale glow of the moon, Irelia could see the exhaustion in the Syndra's eyes.

"You always look terrible." Syndra fired back rudely, clearly annoyed by Irelia's comment. Irelia twitched slightly at Syndra's toxicity, but she ignored the statement.

"Not sleeping well?" Irelia asked, doing her best to sound friendly once more.

Syndra fixed Irelia with a gaze that asked "Are you retarded?" before turning back to the window and yawning widely.

"Something wrong?" Irelia quickly asked.

Syndra turned around and gave Irelia the exact same gaze again.

Irelia sighed exasperatedly before speaking up again.

"Look, I know you're not comfortable here, but that doesn't mean you have to fight me every step of the way. I'm just trying to make things a little more... bearable..." Irelia said, watching Syndra for some hint of acknowledgement.

"Things would be a lot more bearable if you just left me alone." Syndra replied, her voice dull and lacking any sort of enthusiasm.

"Well... someone has to take care of you if you won't even take care of yourself..." Irelia muttered.

"You consider your pestilence of me taking care of me?!" Syndra demanded angrily.

"Look, I'm just trying to help-"

"AND I DON'T NEED IT!" Syndra snarled furiously. The exhaustion in Syndra's face vanished, replaced with the familiar traces of anger. "MUCH LESS DO I NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU. IONIAN FREAK!" Syndra finished.

Beneath her passive face, Irelia could feel herself being rubbed the wrong way, but she quelled her own rising animosity and reminded herself that she owed the mage for saving her life.

"If my being an Ionian bothers you that much, then I will help you on the basis that you are injured." Irelia answered quietly.

Irelia's passivity only seemed to further infuriate Syndra, who was quite clearly trying to drive away the warrior with her rudeness.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE?!" Syndra screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE."

Syndra paused, panting for breath as she prepared her next outburst.

"I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! YOU... AND YOUR COUNTRY! I HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT. EVERYTHING I NEED. I HAVE POWER, UNLIKE YOU..." Syndra yelled, unreasonably berating Irelia.

"But you don't even have that anymore." Irelia answered quietly as she made a pointed gesture at Syndra's back.

Instantly, Irelia knew she had unintentionally struck a nerve the moment she mentioned the sealing of Syndra's powers as Syndra grit her teeth in absolute fury. Rising from the bed, Syndra solidly planted her feet on the ground and balled her hands into fists; her knuckles turning white with the sheer amount of force she was putting on her hands. Behind her violet eyes, Irelia could see the swirling flames of rage rapidly consuming Syndra.

"You. Know. NOTHING!" Syndra howled and made a wild swing with her arm.

Despite having her powers nullified by the three runes in her back, Syndra forcefully called forth her magic; blindly releasing an unmeasured wave of energy at Irelia. Unwilling to back down, Irelia steeled herself and forcefully blocked the wave, absorbing the full impact of the blast with her right arm.

Moments after the wave dissipated, a loud cough met Irelia's ears. Lowering her guard, Irelia's eyes quickly refocused on the sovereign. After forcing her body to take such strains, Syndra staggered about drunkenly; her entire body reeling due to the shock that Syndra forced it through. Again, Syndra coughed heavily, this time bringing a hand up to her lip, the mage wiped a trickled of blood off of the corner of her lip using the back of her hand. Still panting from the strain, Syndra planted her hands on her knees, barely keeping herself upright through sheer willpower. Finally, after recovering slightly, Syndra returned her gaze to Irelia; fixing the Ionian with a glare of utter hatred.

Unfortunately, that was far from the end of Syndra's pains. After suppressing the sudden surge of magic in Syndra's body, the runes activated a second time, completely draining the sovereign of every single ounce of magic she had collected during her outburst. Instantly, Syndra felt her energy evaporate from her body, once again leaving her completely drained. Moments later, Syndra's shoulders sagged and her entire body gave out from beneath her. She fell, inexorably forward.

However, just as the mage fell, she was caught firmly in Irelia's strong grip. The contact briefly seemed to re-energize the mage as she instantly twisted violently, trying to free herself from Irelia's arms.

"Stop." Irelia stated flatly.

Syndra didn't listen and continued to thrash about.

"I SAID STOP." Irelia demanded firmly in a commanding tone. "You're hurting yourself!"

Finally, Syndra ceased her struggling and slouched limply in the warrior's arms.

For a few moments, neither of them made any movements. The only sound that pierced the air was that of Syndra's rapid and ragged panting. Irelia could feel the sovereign's pulse racing at inhuman levels as she supported the mage's limp form.

"L-...L-... Let go..." Syndra gasped, still intent on being free from the warrior's grip.

"I'm not going to just drop you on the floor." Irelia stated flatly with a hint of annoyance in her voice. With that, Irelia knelt down slightly. Placing one arm beneath Syndra's knees and the other arm behind her back, Irelia forcefully heaved Syndra up into her arms. If Syndra had any energy to lash out with, she would have undoubtedly done so. However, her current condition rendered her entirely helpless. She was at Irelia's complete mercy. The very thought of such a fact provoked a feeling deep within Syndra that she rarely ever felt.

Fear.

As Irelia lifted her up, Syndra could only wonder in dread of what fate had in store for her; what horrors Irelia would inflict on her.

But Irelia hardly shared the thoughts Syndra had running through her head. Instead, there was only one goal in Irelia's mind; to somehow placate the irrational mage.

After Irelia had Syndra balanced securely in her arms, the warrior moved forward a few steps, covering the distance that separated her and the hospital bed. Once she got there, Irelia leaned forward, finally laying the sovereign down on the bed as gently as possible.

The moment Irelia released her grip on Syndra, the mage bolted. Instantly jerking away and scrambling to the farthest corner of the bed where she curled her legs up to her chest and hid her face behind her knees. Needless to say, Irelia hardly expected such a reaction from the mage. Gazing quizzically at the sovereign, Irelia mustered the voice to speak.

"You alright?" Irelia inquired, legitimately concerned about the mage's state of being.

"Go away." Syndra spoke, her voice hardly even a whisper.

Although Syndra's two words were incredibly simple, they hid a more subtle undertone that, to Irelia, truly revealed what the mage was going through.

Stress.

The strain of being stripped of the one thing she could depend on was bearing its full burden on Syndra. It was a weight that was without a doubt cracking the very foundations of the mage's precarious mental state.

After a few moments of silence, Irelia sighed pensively and seated herself down on the foot of the bed.

"Not everyone in the world is out to get you, Syndra." Irelia finally spoke in a gentle voice. She paused briefly to allow the weight of her words to sink in. "And the burdens you bear do not have to be yours alone." Irelia continued as she stole a glance at the mage.

Syndra exhibited no signs of acknowledgement, remaining stalk still in her curled up position at the very corner of the bed.

Irelia swallowed hard, wondering if Syndra had finally cracked and gone insane.

"Syndra." Irelia called out lightly.

"..."

"Syndra...?" Irelia repeated again, encouragingly.

"... leave me alone..." the mage finally whispered.

"Relax."

"..."

"No one is going to hurt you here." Irelia stated in a soothing tone that definitely didn't suit her typically tough demeanor.

"You are here... You will hurt me... You must be destroyed before you hurt me..." Syndra whispered back in a cold, mechanical voice.

Irelia pursed her lips into a thin line. She wasn't speaking to Syndra anymore. She was speaking to the very essence of Syndra's beliefs. The scars on her psyche and the psychological damage done to her as a child were beginning to surface. Subconsciously, Irelia couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart. Only now did she realize that Syndra's isolation was due to her inability to put faith in anyone other than herself. The betrayal she experienced at such a young age left the mage damaged far beyond what Irelia had previously imagined.

Finally, Irelia rose from her position at the foot of Syndra's bed. There were two options before her. She could either leave the sovereign in the fractured state she was in, or she could try to reform the fragments into a whole once more. Irelia swallowed her doubts and turned to face the mage once more. For Irelia, there was only one choice. She was not the type to abandon a person in need. Steeling her will, Irelia erased all traces of doubt in her mind.

_"I will not falter..._" Irelia told herself until she was thoroughly convinced that it was true. At long last, Irelia moved around the bed until she was directly across from Syndra. Lifting a knee up onto the bed, Irelia slowly reached behind Syndra's knees, gently placing her hand underneath Syndra's chin and lifting it slightly so that the mage's face was no longer hidden behind her legs. As her gaze rose, Irelia found herself looking into the very depths of Syndra's lifeless eyes. Instantly, Syndra's eyes locked onto Irelia's gentle gaze, like a lost soul searching for a place to belong. Encouraged with her progress, Irelia lifted her other knee up onto the bed and coaxed Syndra to unfurl her legs with a mere touch of her fingers.

"_Here goes nothing_!" Irelia thought to herself. Abruptly, Irelia broke her slow and gentle motions and surged forward, catching Syndra in the most firm, yet most gentle hug Irelia could possibly muster. Instantly, Syndra's eyes widened in panic as fear surged into her mind. Syndra immediately felt the reflex to lash out to free herself.

...

And yet, she didn't. Within the depths of Syndra's restless mind, a piece of her felt _comforted._ It was an emotion that Syndra herself couldn't explain. Hesitantly, Syndra raised her arms, half way between striking the Ionian embracing her and half way between reflexively returning the embrace. Before Syndra's scrambled brain could make a decision as to what to do, however, Irelia moved again. Shifting her body around, Irelia swiftly seated herself beside the mage and leaned Syndra over her chest while keeping her arms wrapped around Syndra in a protective embrace. With Syndra's head resting on her chest, Irelia tilted her head slightly so that her mouth was beside the sovereign's ear.

"You're safe..." Irelia whispered gently. "I will protect you..."

Beneath Irelia's embrace, Syndra stiffened briefly. Her gaze was blank; stunned and confused by the swirling hurricane of emotions swimming around in her mind. Briefly, Irelia squeezed the mage tightly, increasing the Syndra's perceived sense of "protection". Finally, Syndra replied to Irelia's statement.

"But... I don't need... protection..." Syndra whispered, still dazed with her emotions and delirious with her lack of sleep.

Irelia couldn't help but smile at Syndra's reflexive response to her statements.

"Of course you don't..." Irelia whispered back gently before leaning the mage back again into a more comfortable position. "But whenever you do..." Irelia allowed her voice to trail off without finishing her statement.

Instantly, Syndra felt her exhaustion rapidly catch up with her. The anger and fear she experienced slowly dissipated as her restless thoughts fell at ease. With the tendrils of sleep reaching for her mind, Syndra blinked slowly; her eyelids suddenly feeling incredibly heavy. Caught between the warmth of Irelia's embrace and the steady, lulling pulse of the warrior's heartbeat, her eyes finally fluttered to a close. Minutes later, the mage was finally at peace. Resting in the depths of dreamless sleep that had eluded her for days.

Irelia stayed still in her position for a good thirty minutes after she was sure that Syndra was asleep. It was a good time for the warrior herself to sort out her own emotions. But alas, even thirty minutes was barely enough for Irelia to scratch the surface of her own feelings. Heaving a sigh, Irelia brushed aside her thoughts and gently shifted her position until she was free of Syndra's unconscious form. Gently laying down the mage on the bed, Irelia tucked the hospital blankets around the mage as best she could before finally standing up and moving to the door. Irelia glanced back one last time before opening the door. She smiled slightly as she fixed her gaze on Syndra's sleeping face. The mage seemed significantly more attractive when a scowl or frown wasn't plastered across her face. Finally, Irelia exited the room and closed the door behind her. Only then did she lean back on the door and sink down into a sitting position. Heaving an unusually exhausted sigh, Irelia cleared her thoughts and wiped a bead of sweat off her brow with her right arm. She winced slightly as her arm made contact with her forehead. Glancing down, Irelia finally noticed the large magic burn on her arm. Exasperated, Irelia sighed and smiled wryly to herself.

"So that's how it's going to be huh..." Irelia muttered with the smile still on her face. With that, Irelia pushed herself back to her feet and swiftly made her way back to her home. Not a single ounce of concern crossed the warrior's mind.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello again readers, here we are with the seventh chapter of this series. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I originally had this chapter slated for a significantly smaller length, but I felt like that didn't really do either character justice in showing how the relationship was building up. If you think Syndra is cracking a little bit too quickly, rest assured, she isn't going to change that easily. As always, thank you all for reading and leave any reviews if you have comments/thoughts/criticism/questions etc...

Hope to see you all in the next installment!


	8. Chapter 8

**I Stand Resolute**

Two days had passed before Irelia had a break in her schedule that she could dedicate to visiting Syndra at the hospital. As she walked up the path to the pearlescent building, however, Irelia only found herself growing nervous, both anticipating and dreading the imminent meeting. Regardless of her own emotions, Irelia continued moving forward until she was standing in the lobby of the hospital.

"Ah, Miss Irelia, visiting again?" The receptionist greeted Irelia as she strolled in.

"Greetings Josh, how are you?" Irelia asked politely as she walked up to the desk.

"Good. Good. Thank you." Josh answered with a smile. "We missed you yesterday, you have been coming in everyday for the past few..." He continued with a small chuckle.

Irelia smiled wryly in response, but didn't offer any words.

"Alrighty then... Syndra again yeah?" Josh inquired, guessing that Irelia was there to visit the mage once more.

"Yeah. You don't have to look it up though, I remember which room she's in." Irelia answered and took a few steps towards the infirmary.

"Ah wait, Irelia!" Josh called out just as Irelia reached the door.

Turning her head, Irelia glanced at the receptionist through the corner of her eye.

"It looks like she isn't here anymore." Josh called out.

"What?" Irelia asked in surprise. Her brow furrowed slightly as she wondered how the mage could have been released in such a short time.

"Yeah. It says right here that she was released earlier this morning." Josh replied.

Irelia walked back to the desk and rested her arms on the counter top.

"That can't be right. She wasn't in very good condition a few days ago when I last visited her." Irelia commented sounding confused.

"Uhm... let me see..." Josh muttered and shuffled around a pile of papers. "Ah there we go. Here are her records."

Josh hummed slightly as he scanned Syndra's timetable, activity data, and check up history.

"Well that's weird." Josh finally spoke up and glanced at Irelia. The warrior raised an eyebrow and waited for Josh to explain.

"It starts on 0:00 two days ago with 'sleeping' and then the same thing is repeated for the next forty eight lines, staggered at one hour intervals." Josh said, seeming doubtful that what he was reading was correct.

"You mean she slept for forty eight hours?" Irelia inquired skeptically.

"Sounds about right." Josh answered, seeming just as surprised as Irelia. "At the bottom of the page it says she was released about four hours ago."

"Forty eight hours..." Irelia muttered to herself. Finally, she turned back to Josh and spoke up once more. "Thanks for your help, Josh, I think I can manage from here."

"Sure thing, Irelia, see you around!" Josh replied happily.

With that, Irelia turned about her heel and strolled back out of the hospital. Only one destination was in her mind. The Fortress.

* * *

_One Hour Later_

Irelia was stumped. Ordinarily, the warrior had a good intuition as to where she could find other people, but when it came down to Syndra, Irelia had only one guess as to where she could be. When it turned out that her guess was wrong, Irelia was left clueless. Aimlessly, Irelia wandered the busy streets of the Institute of War. Only a mere twenty minutes ago, she was standing in front of the gates to Syndra's fortress. However, the mage was most certainly not there; the entire castle was sealed and barred from entry with several sealing spells and runes. Irelia sighed as she walked. The warrior cringed as she wondered what Syndra's response to having her home taken away was like. Irelia had a pretty good idea as to what the reaction was.

Anger...

Rage...

Death threats...

Irelia's mind continued to drift about until she accidentally bumped into a lean man who was backing his way out of a door, causing him to drop a box filled with unknown contents.

"Ah!- Sorry!" Irelia immediately apologized as she brought her thoughts back to attention. Irelia immediately kneeled down and picked up the box for the individual she bumped into.

The man chuckled slightly and spoke.

"It's quite alright, Irelia." The man replied. Irelia immediately recognized the voice and raised her gaze to meet Master Yi's.

"Sorry..." Irelia repeated again, blushing slightly with her clumsy absentmindedness. "Are you moving or something? Need any help?" Irelia offered, trying to find a way to excuse her blunder.

Master Yi chuckled again and shook his head.

"This is all I am carrying. Just running a favor for a friend." The swordsman replied as he took the box from Irelia.

"Oh... Alright then." Irelia answered.

"You look troubled, Irelia..." Master Yi commented, giving Irelia a sideways glance. "Is something bothering you?"

Irelia blinked, mildly surprised that Master Yi was able to detect such a vibe from her.

"Am I really that easy to read?" Irelia asked the swordsman sounding mildly alarmed.

Master Yi laughed openly before replying.

"Your worry is written across your face. Perhaps I can help you?" He inquired with a smile.

"Uhhh..." Irelia started, wondering where to start when suddenly an idea popped into her mind. "Say, do you know where the tallest building in the city is?" Irelia inquired hopefully.

"This one." Master Yi answered immediately, gesturing to the building he had just exited. The swordsman seemed mildly confused as to why Irelia would be concerned with what the tallest building in the city was, but after he saw the worry evaporate from Irelia's face, he brushed aside his doubts.

"Convenient." Irelia stated, giving Master Yi a thankful smile. "Thanks!"

"My pleasure." the swordsman replied and turned away before heading down the street towards his destination.

Irelia wasted no time ascending the seemingly endless amount of stairs to the roof of the watchtower. She didn't recognize the building when she was outside of it, and she still didn't recognize it when she was within it. Regardless, Irelia was hardly paying attention to her surroundings as she swiftly made her ascent. The only thought on her mind was Syndra. Subconsciously, the warrior bit her lip in anxiousness. Irelia didn't really know why she found herself so bothered by the fact that she couldn't find Syndra. She didn't have any guesses as to where Syndra would be if she wasn't atop the watchtower. After all, if the mage wasn't enjoying her heights, what else could she be doing?

Thankfully, Irelia's intuition proved to be accurate. As she opened the hatch that led onto the roof of the watchtower, Irelia's ears were met with the sound of a rather ungracious sneeze. Irelia, however, only felt relief after hearing the sound. She had found the sovereign. Finally emerging onto the rooftop, Irelia fixated her gaze on Syndra's back. The mage was leaning forward on the protective stone railing; her hands gripping the railing, providing a support for her torso as she gazed out across the bustling city.

"You really do like your high places, don't you." Irelia finally spoke up, yet again trying to strike a conversation with the mage. Syndra glanced at the warrior briefly with a gaze that displayed her annoyance. However, the mage's eyes were quickly drawn to Irelia's right arm which was wrapped in white gauze. Curiosity flashed in the sovereign's eyes as her gaze settled on the white bandages, but she quickly turned away, hiding her interest. Irelia, however, easily picked up on Syndra's curiosity. Subconsciously, Irelia wondered if the mage was pleased with the damage she had dealt or if she even remembered that she was the one responsible for the damage at all.

"Cooking accident." Irelia finally spoke up, doing a good job to disguise her injury with her lie.

Syndra ignored the warrior's explanation with a muffled grunt.

"Nothing too serious though..." Irelia added, hoping that Syndra was perhaps interested in her well being.

Of course, Syndra felt the exact opposite. She was displeased that the injury wasn't more serious.

"Weak fool." Syndra muttered dismissively in response to Irelia's comments.

"What?" Irelia spoke up immediately, straining to pick up on the mage's words. Upon not having any response from the mage, Irelia nonchalantly strolled up right beside the sovereign and rested her elbows on the stone railing. Syndra was immediately annoyed by the warrior's indifference and straightened herself, intending to leave. Needless to say, Irelia felt slightly insulted by the mage's actions and lack of acknowledgement.

"Hey, I just wanted to be able to hear what you were saying..." Irelia called out after the mage, tossing her hands slightly in exasperation.

Syndra grimaced and whirled upon the warrior.

" I said you are a weak fool. Fool." Syndra finally answered in a punctuated and insulting tone. She paused briefly in her speaking to let off another unpleasant sneeze.

"You preach 'balance in all things' and yet you yourself can't even cook without burning half your arm." Syndra finished snidely.

Irelia's forehead wrinkled slightly as she regarded the mage's comments. On one hand, Syndra was quite clearly insulting her. On the other, Syndra definitely had no recollection that she was the one that inflicted the damage to Irelia's arm. Intent on finding out exactly how much of their interactions Syndra remembered, Irelia made another sideways comment.

"You were out for a two days straight..." Irelia stated, referring to Syndra's odd sleeping pattern.

The mage frowned in response.

"Whatever you drugged me with clearly worked then." Syndra spat accusingly.

Behind her poker face, Irelia couldn't help but feel her heart sink slightly. Syndra didn't remember anything. She didn't even realize that she had not eaten anything from Irelia prior to her falling asleep in Irelia's arms, let alone did she realize that Irelia was the one that put her to sleep.

Another sneeze from Syndra snapped Irelia out of her thoughts.

"Are you feeling alright?" Irelia inquired, "You're not allergic to anything right? Are you getting sick?"

Syndra sneezed yet again before turning her head and glaring at Irelia.

"I'm allergic to YOU. Get away from me before you infect me with that disease all you Ionian freaks have." Syndra snarled, irritated with Irelia's concerns.

Irelia frowned as her worries only increased. Although the warrior knew Syndra was merely behaving as usual, Irelia could not recall a single instance in which the sovereign actually fell ill. Unfortunately, seeing the concern on Irelia's face grown only seemed to aggravate Syndra further.

"Stop following me around. I'm not some child that needs surveillance." Syndra growled in a threatening, low voice.

Syndra sneezed again, breaking the threatening aura about her.

"You need to rest." Irelia stated firmly, ignoring the sovereign's threats.

"I don't need anything. Don't you ever tell me what to do." Syndra snapped

Irelia frowned at Syndra's obstinate resistance. Even though the warrior was right, Syndra insisted on fighting her every step of the way.

"Do you need a place to stay-"

"No." Syndra interrupted.

"You can stay at my-"

"No." Syndra interrupted again.

"UGH! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE!" Irelia almost yelled, her frustration getting the better of her.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT ANYTHING FROM YOU! ALL YOU IONIANS DO IS SPIT LIES!" Syndra yelled back before falling into a coughing fit.

Irelia's frustration evaporated as she watched the mage turn away and subdue the signs of imminent illness. When she finally recovered, Syndra fixed Irelia with yet another hostile glare, conveying her hatred of the Ionian.

Irelia said nothing in response, choosing only to stare at the floor while Syndra's eyes punched holes through her.

Finally, after the two had stood rooted in their positions for a good few minutes, Irelia sniffed loudly and whirled on her heel before swiftly disappearing down the stairs.

"God, finally... Good riddance..." Syndra muttered...

And then she sneezed again.

* * *

Night had consumed the skies of the Institute of War by the time Irelia emerged from her home. Alone, the warrior spent the entire day attempting to distract herself from the heavy weight burdening her mind. Alas, she was unsuccessful. Syndra alone, was the sole source of her discomfort. A part of the warrior felt angered by the mage, frustrated by the fact that Syndra refused to connect with her on any level at all. And yet, Irelia still felt as though she needed to reach out to the sovereign despite how many times the mage rejected her. On top of it all, the fact that Syndra didn't remember the events that occurred between them during Irelia's last hospital visit only made Irelia feel wounded. It was as though the progress she made in communicating with Syndra had been erased without even a backwards glance.

Needless to say, Irelia's mind was still swarming with thoughts of Syndra when she stepped out of the front door of her home. The most prominent of which was a curiosity as to where the mage planned to rest during the night. Irelia had a fairly strong suspicion that Syndra had every intention of refusing any and all housing accommodations other than repossessing her fortress. That meant she was most likely still out atop the watchtower, alone and unsheltered against the frigid night air. Irelia frowned as she imagined Syndra sleeping on the roof, shivering in the cold. Unwilling to accept such a picture, Irelia disappeared back into her home. A solution was already brewing itself in her mind.

Thirty minutes later, Irelia found herself struggling up the countless steps up the watchtower. With a large, military grade sleeping bag in her arms, Irelia had a difficult time navigating her way up the stairs. Finally, after what felt like ascending the stairs to heaven, Irelia reached the access hatch to the watchtower roof. Unceremoniously kicking the hatch open, Irelia pulled herself out of the stairwell and dumped the sleeping bag onto the tower roof, taking a brief moment to catch her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, Irelia saw Syndra tilt her head in Irelia's direction, frown, and then go back to pretending as though no one was behind her. Much to her surprise, however, Syndra chose to speak before Irelia could even think about starting a conversation.

"Don't even think about telling me that that bundle of trash is for me." Syndra snapped, not even giving a chance for Irelia to offer the bed roll to her. The sovereign's voice was difficult to recognize. Syndra's voice had become scratchy; her throat sounded dry as though her illness had somehow advanced extremely quickly in a mere matter of hours.

However, it was Irelia's turn to answer with silence. Instead, the Ionian warrior simply unfolded the sleeping bag and went about placing it in the most sheltered position atop the roof.

"Are you deaf? I said I don't want that disease infested bag of Ionian rubbish!" Syndra snarled again, clearly upset with Irelia's cold shoulder. Syndra coughed slightly and cleared her throat.

Irelia glanced up at Syndra briefly before turning back to the bag. Still, she didn't say a word.

"Tch!..." Syndra finally sounded and turned away, doing her best to pretend as though nothing had happened.

"Not so fun is it." Irelia finally spoke up in a muted voice.

"What?" Syndra snapped immediately, sounding both angry and annoyed.

"Being ignored." Irelia muttered in response.

"YOU are the one who comes to ME. YOU are the one that bothers ME. How many times have I told you to leave me alone?" Syndra demanded irately.

"I'm just helping out." Irelia stated flatly in the same muted voice.

"And I don't want your used Ionian shit." Syndra snarled back.

Finally, Irelia stood up and faced Syndra. Meeting Irelia's gaze, Syndra could see a half wounded, half saddened look in Irelia's eyes. At long last, the Ionian warrior turned without a word and swiftly made her way back down the stairwell.

"Psh. Serves you right." Syndra muttered to herself, referring to the injured look in Irelia's eyes.

Minutes later, however, Irelia returned yet again. This time, carrying another sleeping bag. Though it was not as high a quality as Irelia's military grade sleeping bag, it was still wrapped in an unopened package. Syndra watched out of the corner of her eye as Irelia wordlessly dumped the package out onto the roof and let out a deep breath.

"There." Irelia finally spoke up, sounding rather unenthusiastic.

"Don't need it." Syndra immediately answered hoarsely.

"It's brand new." Irelia stated flatly. "I just bought it. It's not Ionian, it hasn't been touched by one, and it never will be touched by one. You'll use it then, yeah?" Irelia inquired almost demandingly.

Syndra's mouth opened and closed wordlessly. "_This idiot really just went out and bought a new bag?"_ she wondered.

"You're an idiot." Syndra stated, unwilling to admit that Irelia had solved every one of her complaints in one simple action. Needless to say, Syndra didn't expect such a generous action from anyone ever, much less from an Ionian.

Irelia, however, smiled happily in response to Syndra's insult; taking the insult as acceptance of her gift rather than as a denial of it. Finally, without speaking a word, Irelia scooped her military bag back up and disappeared yet again down the depths of the stairwell, leaving Syndra to unbox and set up her own bag. Unlike the last time she descended these stairs, Irelia only felt pleased with the achievements she had accomplished.

* * *

Irelia returned to the watchtower once again early the following morning. Much to her surprise, however, both Syndra and the sleeping bag Irelia bought were not there. A puzzled Irelia once again found herself wondering as to where the sovereign could possibly have run off to. It wasn't as though Syndra had her home to return to. None the less, when Irelia passed by the entrance to the mage's fortress, she was rather pleased to find the sleeping bag dumped rather unceremoniously on the front steps up to the castle. Irelia instantly knew that the mage had made use of the bag by the unkempt and sloppy manner in which the bed roll was tossed aside. Now, the only thing that remained for Irelia was to actually find the sovereign. Yet again, Irelia was stumped.

After spending several hours aimlessly wandering about the institute and checking several places, Irelia came up entirely empty handed. Not a single person she asked had seen the mage nor did it seem like they were unhappy that such was the case. At long last, Irelia found herself standing before Miss Fortune's bar, yet again staring blankly at the building's flashy illuminated sign. Only this time, rather than being pulled into the bar by Miss Fortune, Irelia instead got something else.

Sneaking up from behind the absent minded Ionian, Sarah abruptly took both of her arms, snuck them underneath Irelia's arms, and used her hands to squeeze Irelia's breasts.

"HI IRELIA!" Sarah yelled as she bear hugged the Ionian and tried to maintain her grasp on the Ionian.

Instantly, Irelia snapped out of her daze and forcefully yanked her way out of Sarah's grasp.

"SARAH!- You- YOU!" Irelia whirled upon the pirate hunter, her cheeks flushed crimson in embarrassment as she covered her chest protectively with her arms.

Miss Fortune couldn't withhold her laughter as Irelia gave her the most wounded and humiliated look she had ever given anyone. Doubling over with laughter, Sarah gasped for air as she placed her hands on her knees, shaking with uncontrollable mirth. Finally, after a good minute of laughing, Miss Fortune recovered enough to speak in a straight voice.

"So Irelia, what brings you to my bar at such an early hour? My good looks?" Sarah asked, still smiling in victory.

Irelia sniffed slightly with indignation as Miss Fortune continued to gaze at her with her winning smile.

"Oh don't give me that, girl!" Sarah piped up immediately as Irelia refused to respond.

Irelia rolled her eyes in response, indicating a certain level of forgiveness. She did know the pirate hunter meant no harm after all.

"C'mon, I'll give you a drink on the house!" Sarah teased with a smile, seemingly unbothered by the fact that it was extremely early for anyone to be drinking at this time.

Without further ado, Sarah practically hauled Irelia into the bar. The moment Irelia entered the bar, however, she froze. Seated in the backmost corner was none other than Syndra. Sarah paused briefly in surprise, wondering why Irelia suddenly stopped walking, but after tracing Irelia's gaze, she quickly spoke up.

"Weird isn't it? She never comes here and now she shows up at such an early time." Sarah whispered, shooting a glance at the mage.

Oblivious to the pair standing at the door, Syndra audibly groaned and slouched forward in her chair, using her arms as a pillow for her head.

"She doesn't look too good..." Sarah commented, with a sideways glance at Irelia.

"She's sick..." Irelia answered flatly.

"Ugh..." Sarah sounded in response.

Irelia didn't reply, instead choosing to purse her lips into a tight-lipped frown of concern and worry. After catching a glimpse of Syndra's flushed face, Irelia shot Miss Fortune a rather quizzical glance.

"She's drunk?" Irelia inquired in a surprised voice.

"I bet she is." Sarah replied, continuing to stare at Syndra.

Irelia broke her gaze on the sovereign and turned to entirely face the pirate hunter.

"And why is she drunk?" Irelia inquired almost accusingly.

"Hey, what was I supposed to do? Refuse to serve her?" Sarah questioned hastily, bringing her hands up as though she were surrendering.

"What was it that she ordered?" Irelia asked in response.

"Fireball." Sarah stated.

"How many?" Irelia pressured.

"..."

"Sarah..."

"Five."

"Shots?"

"Bottles."

"WHAT!? ARE YOU INSANE!?" Irelia burst out in horror.

"I couldn't say no! She-had-that-murder-look-in-her-eye-when-I-said-an ything!" Miss Fortune jabbered out so quickly that her words were slurred together.

Irelia shook her head in exasperation, knowing that it wasn't Sarah's fault for having to serve the mage.

"So... Which bottle is she on?" Irelia questioned, though she already had a sneaking suspicion as to which one it was.

"Fifth..." Sarah muttered mutely.

"I need to stop this..." Irelia stated flatly and immediately started on her way towards the sovereign.

"Irelia! Wait! You can't-" Sarah started, but quickly stopped as Irelia shot her a silencing look.

Oblivious to the Ionian approaching her, Syndra drunkenly allowed her head to slide off her arms and onto the wooden table with a solid thump. If anything was clear, it was that she was beyond drunk. Concerned for the mage's health, Irelia strode up to the table and snatched the last bottle of alcohol off of the table. Syndra glanced up at the sound of the bottle being taken away and let out a pained groan before replacing her head back atop her folded arms.

"Syndra... What are you doing..." Irelia demanded almost angrily.

"Mmmnnnnnn..." Syndra groaned again and childishly covered her ears, exhibiting the fact that her drunkenness increased her susceptibility to loud noise. After a few moments of silence, the mage blindly reached out for the last bottle of Fireball, accidentally knocking over an empty shot glass as her hand failed to find the bottle it was searching for.

"Syndra..." Irelia whispered softly.

The mage shifted slightly and glanced upwards unsteadily at the Ionian warrior. Syndra blinked in attempt to get her eyes to focus, but her body refused to comply. Finally, she gave up and dropped her head back onto her arms with a solid thump.

"Irelia!" Sarah suddenly called out from behind the bar counter.

Irelia turned her head to gaze at the pirate hunter.

"It's almost lunch time, you might want to take her somewhere... quieter... My regulars will be comin in pretty soon!" Miss Fortune advised.

Irelia swallowed unconsciously. It was once again falling upon her shoulders to take care of the hazardous mage. None the less, Irelia was undeterred by the task ahead of her. Returning her focus to Syndra, Irelia set the bottle of Fireball down on the table and moved closer to Syndra's side. Kneeling down beside the drunken sovereign, Irelia whispered,

"C'mon, we need to go..."

Syndra blinked at the warrior uncomprehendingly.

"Syndra... c'mon..." Irelia whispered urgently. Irelia returned to her feet and gently reached out to the mage, placing her hands underneath the mage's arms in attempt to coax Syndra to stand up.

Syndra groaned again and buried her face in her arms, refusing to leave.

"Syndra, c'mon, we have to-"

"I'll kill you all..." Syndra interrupted half-heartedly.

"Alright sure. But we need to leave!" Irelia whispered urgently, ignoring the mage's threats. Unwilling to allow Syndra to linger any longer, Irelia reached out and gently pulled Syndra to her feet. Unsteady, the mage teetered dangerously as she attempted to restore her sense of balance.

"_Christ she is really gone..."_ Irelia thought to herself as Syndra practically leaned all of her weight on Irelia. Of course the mage hardly even noticed that Irelia was supporting her. She thought she was standing all on her own.

"Alright... c'mon, let's go..." Irelia muttered and guided Syndra towards the door.

"Here I come, Ionia! Your destruction is at hand..." Syndra randomly sputtered, her voice sounding far less threatening than usual.

As the pair emerged into the bright, noon-time daylight, Syndra slammed her eyes shut, her eyes scorched by the piercing bright lights.

"Mmmnnnnnn..." Syndra groaned and stopped walking, bringing her hands to her eyes and rubbing them in attempt to quell the stabbing lances of pain piercing her skull.

"C'mon, don't stop, we're almost there..." Irelia whispered encouragingly and gave a small forward push. The warrior was still supporting the sovereign's body as Syndra crookedly made her way down the street, taking a few steps at a time. However, the mage suddenly stopped entirely. Irelia too, paused and waited for Syndra to resume movement. Abruptly, Syndra shuddered and then let out a horrible sounding sneeze, followed by a long string of choking coughs. Mildly disgusted with the mage's illness, Irelia made the mistake of letting go and backing away slightly. She regretted it immediately. Without Irelia's support, Syndra immediately lost balance and fell painfully on her rear end. Slightly dazed, the mage blinked and instinctively curled her legs into a sitting position. Undoubtedly, she had no idea where she was or what she was doing there. Cringing slightly due to the fact that she had just dropped the sovereign, Irelia hesitantly walked forward and tapped the sovereign on the shoulder.

No response.

"Syndra... c'mon... get up..." Irelia muttered.

No response.

Her patience waning, Irelia finally walked around in front of Syndra and planted her hands on her hips, gazing at the mage in a mildly demanding manner.

No response.

Finally, it hit Irelia. Syndra had passed out.

"You've got to be kidding..." Irelia muttered in amazement. However, it was quite evident that Syndra was indeed unconscious; her head and shoulders slumped forward in alcohol induced slumber.

"_Well... At least she can't fight me now..._" Irelia thought to herself. Stretching her muscles slightly, Irelia knelt down beside the sleeping mage and gently uncurled her legs. Once again, Irelia placed one arm beneath Syndra's knees while placing the other behind her back; it was the same style of lifting she used back when she carried the sovereign in the hospital.

"Almost there, huh..." Irelia muttered to herself as she glanced down at the sleeping mage in her arms. Suddenly, it felt as though she was anything but close to her home.

Irelia sighed and shifted Syndra's body into a more comfortable position.

"Two miles to go..." Irelia muttered and finally started forward.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Irregular update schedule for the win? This chapter was initially slated to be even longer than it is. I cut it at this point simply because if I went ahead and covered everything that I wanted to cover, this probably would have exceeded eight thousand words. Personally, that is a little bit too long of a chapter for my tastes, so this one is being split up in two. Unfortunately, that means that I didn't get to the interesting part of the chapter just yet. I guess that leaves more to be anticipated in the next chapter.

As always, thank you all for your continued support and thank you again for the reviews and criticism.

Hope to see you all in the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**The Longest Mile**

By the time Irelia reached her house, she was exhausted. Although the warrior initially thought that carrying Syndra while she was unconscious would be easier than if she was awake, that idea was quickly proven wrong. Without Syndra's own input in helping Irelia carry her, transporting the sovereign was akin to transporting a six foot long sack of bricks. While Syndra certainly wasn't a heavy person, the simple fact remained that she was completely limp while unconscious; providing essentially no solid surface to which Irelia could balance the mage in her arms. Drenched in her own sweat, Irelia unceremoniously kicked down her own front door and practically threw herself down on her couch with the mage still in her arms.

"Phew..." the Ionian warrior sighed in relief, finally free of the mage's weight as she gently laid Syndra down next to her; the mage's head resting peacefully on Irelia's lap. Mildly exhausted from carrying the mage for such a long distance, Irelia briefly allowed her eyes to flutter shut; simultaneously taking deep, calming breaths in effort to calm her aching arms. Before the warrior could even allow her mind a second of rest, however, a loud cough pierced the silence. It could only mean one thing. Glancing down, Irelia settled her gaze on Syndra's flushed face. Her eyes were half open, gazing out in a glazed, unfocused stare. The warrior shifted slightly so that she was in view of Syndra's stare.

"Hey..." Irelia whispered softly "Catch some rest... You need it..."

Syndra's gaze hazily flicked over Irelia's face. It was clear that she was having difficulty recognizing the Ionian warrior let alone understanding what the Irelia was saying. Irelia doubted that the sovereign even realized that she was in an Ionian's home. Without a doubt, if she did know, she would have reacted... negatively... Undeterred, Irelia gently lifted her hand and brushed back a portion of Syndra's hair, trying to coax the sovereign to give in to her rest. Alas, for some unknown reason, Syndra resisted the call of slumber and instead fell into a strained string of coughing. Irelia couldn't help but cringe slightly as she watched and felt the sovereign's coughs reverberate throughout her entire body. After the spasms finally stopped, the mage slouched heavily into the cushions. The mage's eyes closed, leaving only the sound of her ragged, panting breath as a hint of her maintained consciousness.

"Syndra... just sleep..." Irelia coaxed, finally bringing her hand down to Syndra's forehead, intending to brush stray strands of hair out of her face. What she got instead was completely unexpected. Instead of gently brushing aside the mage's hair, Irelia's hand immediately felt a wall of heat slam into her fingertips the moment her hand neared the sovereign's face. Alarmed, Irelia snapped into full attention and deliberately placed her hand on Syndra's forehead.

Saying that it was hot would have been an extreme understatement. It was _scorching._

"Holy Sh-" Irelia almost swore as she snapped her hand back off of Syndra's burning forehead.

"Why didn't you say anything!" Irelia demanded, fixing her alarmed gaze on Syndra's eyes.

Weakly, the mage's mouth moved silently, but no words came out.

Finally, it struck Irelia. It wasn't that Syndra didn't ask for help, it was that she couldn't. The fever she was running had long since passed the point in which it was causing severe damage to the mage. The more Irelia thought about it, the more the warrior realized that Syndra had likely passed out due to her fever rather than due to her alcohol consumption.

Instantly, Irelia sprang into action. Forgetting her previous exhaustion, Irelia shot to her feet and sprinted to her kitchen sink in one fluid motion. Snatching a clean towel off a nearby rack, Irelia dampened the towel and dashed back to Syndra's side.

"It's alright, you'll be okay..." Irelia muttered aloud, sounding more as though she were convincing herself as opposed to Syndra.

After a few minutes however, Irelia lifted the damp towel off of the sovereign's forehead only to find that the towel matched the sovereign's temperature. Irelia gulped worriedly. It wasn't helping at all. Abruptly, Syndra's exhausted form animated once more; starting and ending yet another string of coughs. Grimly, Irelia pursed her lips and assessed the mage's condition. It didn't take long for her to decide that Syndra was in need of medical attention. Nothing Irelia could do here would alleviate the mage's conditions. After wetting the towel once more, Irelia knelt down beside the mage and spoke in a firm voice.

"Syndra, I'm taking you to the hospital, okay?" Irelia said. Though her words were phrased as a question, it was more of a statement than it was a request for Syndra's permission to move her. Scooping up the sovereign in the same fashion as she did the past two times Irelia had lifted the mage, Irelia barged out her front door and rushed down the street at breakneck speed. It would be another mile to reach the hospital.

* * *

Irelia was almost entirely burned out by the time she reached the hospital. Yet, the Ionian refused to allow herself even the slightest bit of rest as she kicked down yet another door and barged into the emergency response area of the hospital. Her rather startling entry earned her more than a dozen stares from the workers around her.

"Are you just going to stand there?!" Irelia demanded through gasps of air.

"Out of my way!" A familiar voice suddenly barked out.

From behind the milling crowd of surprised workers, Soraka rushed out and arrived by Irelia's side. The star child wasted no time with questions, instead choosing to bark out orders at her subordinates.

"Gurney. NOW!" Soraka yelled. Instantly, the emergency response crew reacted, pulling out a folding stretcher from out of nowhere.

"Someone get me a breather!" Soraka yelled out shortly thereafter. Without pausing a moment, the star child turned to Irelia and beckoned to the warrior with her hand, indicating to the warrior to follow her. With that, Soraka turned the gurney and sprinted off in the direction of the nearest operating room. While she, Irelia, and a host of medical staff hurried down the hallway, Soraka finally found the time to ask Irelia what had happened to the mage.

"What happened?" Soraka demanded firmly, not taking her eyes off the feverish mage for a second.

"I'm not sure..." Irelia began until Soraka interrupted.

" 'Relia, I don't have time for that, tell me what happened. Now." Soraka demanded. It was rare hearing the healer speak so bluntly and demandingly. None the less, Irelia wasted no time hesitating.

"She started getting sick a few days ago, back when she left the hospital. I didn't think much of it, but a few hours ago I found her drunk at Sarah's bar. Took her home and she was burning up when I got there. Took her here immediately." Irelia finished as concisely as possible.

"DETOX UNIT!" Soraka shouted seconds after Irelia finished her explanation. After a few moments, one of the attendants rushed forward and hooked up an oddly shaped box to the gurney and pulled out various tubes and needles out of the box, laying the assortment of objects beside the mage in preparation for Soraka's treatment. Finally, the group arrived at a vacant room and the doctors and attendants all surged into the room, seamlessly preparing for any treatment that Soraka deemed necessary. Irelia, being an outsider, was forced to wait outside. Exhausted, the warrior finally sat herself down on one of the few chairs in the hallway. Whatever happened now, was out of her control... or so she thought.

The atmosphere within the operation room was several steps above a lively buzz. Several doctors and nurses all rushed about, preparing and readying all types of treatment while Soraka assessed Syndra's condition.

"Ma'am, her blood alcohol content is beyond fatal levels!" one of the nurses called out. Soraka seemingly materialized beside the nurse and quickly scanned the results of the measurement. Three times fatal toxicity.

"WHERES THAT DETOX UNIT!" Soraka yelled above the lively din.

"Ma'am, we can't!" A different doctor yelled back. "Her condition is unstable! If we start drawing blood now, we could lose her!"

"What?!" Soraka questioned incredulously.

"She has a fever of one hundred five degrees!" The same doctor answered. "It we draw blood now, we could cut blood flow to her brain. It would be-"

"Shit." Soraka swore in uncharacteristic agitation, not needing to hear the rest of the doctor's assessment.

"Back up, I'm going to try to force her fever to lower." Soraka barked out. Rolling up her sleeves, Soraka stepped forward and placed her hands on both sides of Syndra's head, calling forth her healing magic. Gritting her teeth from the strain, Soraka pumped a significant amount of her energy into lowering the mage's fever.

It worked.

Slightly.

"Fever is now at one hundred and four degrees." One of the nurses called out. Soraka grimaced in response. Her magic wasn't enough to lower the mage's condition into operational levels. All that effort for a mere one degree reduction. It would be impossible for her alone to reduce the fever from such a high level. Running out of ideas, Soraka mind scrambled about, frantically trying to think of another way to lower the mage's fever. And yet, there was none. Swallowing hard, Soraka quickly determined that the only way Syndra would reach a safe level was if her body alone reduced the fever. Soraka grit her teeth in rare frustration.

"Ma'am?" One of the nurses inquired, pushing Soraka out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" The star child responded immediately.

"Her immune system levels are near zero." The nurse replied mutely.

"What?" Soraka demanded, unsure if she had heard the nurse correctly.

"Her immune system is at the strength of an infant. I-... I've never seen anything like it. It's like it's never been used." The nurse replied.

"That's not possible..." Soraka muttered and turned to the sovereign. Weakly, the mage coughed and opened her glazed eyes. Still analyzing all the information she had discovered, Soraka moved beside the sovereign and spoke,

"You're going to be fine, Syndra. You're going to be fine." Soraka repeated while her mind sped about at a thousand miles per hour. _Underdeveloped immune system..._ Soraka thought, feeling stumped.

Abruptly, a loud bang sounded, startling the healer out of her trance.

"Ma'am, you cannot enter this room, trained medical personnel"

"Out of my way! I need to talk to Soraka!" An agitated voice interrupted the nurse. It was Irelia.

"Ma'am you need to wait out-"

"SORAKA!" Irelia yelled out, craning her head to gaze above the heads of the medical staff and find the star child. Soraka turned briefly and met Irelia's eyes. Instantly, she caught the severity of her gaze spoke out.

"Let her through." Soraka barked commandingly. Irelia instantly rushed forward until she was beside Syndra and the star child.

"You can't treat her." Irelia stated flatly, somehow knowing such was the case. None the less, Soraka nodded mutely and spoke up.

"Her fever is running too high and I couldn't lower it any more than one degree with my magic..." Soraka stated, sounding slightly desperate. Behind Irelia's eyes, Soraka could see the gears in the warrior's mind turning.

"It's too convenient..." Irelia muttered.

"What?" Soraka asked immediately.

"I need her medical records." Irelia stated. Without bothering to ask Irelia about her intentions or theory, Soraka grabbed the nearest nurse.

"Give her Syndra's medical records." Soraka told the nurse and then released her. Irelia stood and turned to follow the nurse. Soraka followed suit.

A few seconds later, the nurse pulled out a folder from a cabinet and handed it to Irelia. Without wasting a second, Irelia ripped the folder open.

...

Nothing fell out.

The folder was empty.

"I knew it. It's too convenient." Irelia stated again.

" "Relia what's going on? What is too convenient?" Soraka asked breathlessly, unable to withhold her curiosity as to what Irelia had deducted.

"She's never been sick." Irelia stated flatly as though that alone was the answer to all of their questions.

"What? Everyone gets sick. What do you mean she's never been sick" Soraka asked, confused by Irelia's explanation.

"There's only one reason why she's like this. She's different from us. She has something we don't." Irelia stated, taking a breath before continuing. "She never gets sick. She never gets drunk. Yet now she is both. Only one thing has changed." Irelia finished with a confident tone.

"You don't mean..." Soraka started.

"I need to borrow your gurney." Irelia interrupted flatly and strode back to the sovereign's side.

"But Irelia, you can't just-"

"If we don't take them out... If they don't take them out... she dies." Irelia stated adamantly.

"Irelia, it's three miles to the headquarters..." Soraka answered, sounding doubtful that Irelia could make it in her condition.

"Then I need to go. Now." Irelia stated, pure determination flashing in her eyes.

With that, Irelia whirled about her heel and planted her hands firmly on the gurney.

No one dared to stop her.

* * *

By the time Irelia arrived at the Institute Headquarters, her body was beyond exhausted. Running on pure adrenaline, Irelia sprinted all three miles until she smashed through the front doors of the head quarters. Ignoring the guards that moved in to subdue or restrain her, Irelia kept straight on running until she reached the runemaster's quarters. The sounds of scuffling outside his door easily alerted the runemaster to the presence of visitors.

"Miss Irelia, please stop this disturba-"

"Out of my way!"

"Ooof!"

-_CRASH-_

Irelia burst headlong into the runemaster's office. For a brief moment, the Ionian scanned the room, searching frantically for the runemaster.

"uhm..."

Irelia whirled around and found the speaker of the voice.

"May I help you, Miss Irelia?" The rune master inquired hesitantly as he curiously gazed at the sweaty, panting Ionian.

"I'm here to request the immediate removal of Syndra's runes." Irelia stated firmly. After catching her breath slightly, Irelia spoke again. "As one of the champions assigned to observing the sovereign, I have the power to request this." Irelia stated, sounding confident in her own decisions.

"I... Uhhh... Uhm..." The rune master stuttered, stunned at what Irelia was saying. "Are you sure about this, Miss Irelia? I was unaware that you were given authority over this matter. Would it not be beneficial to your country to keep the sovereign in this-"

"Do not make me repeat myself." Irelia growled threateningly.

The runemaster's jaw hung open for a brief moment, stunned by the dangerous tone in Irelia's voice.

"I... eh-hem... very well, I will send a messenger for the sovereign at-"

Irelia yanked the gurney into the room; a feverish looking Syndra laying unconscious atop its surface.

"If you please." Irelia stated coldly, ignoring the surprise written all over the runemaster's face.

Nervously, the runemaster swallowed his fear and stood up from his desk.

"She is ill?" The man inquired hesitantly.

"And she will die if you continue hesitating." Irelia answered cruelly.

The runemaster only seemed to hesitate more with Irelia's statement.

"Very well, allow me to begin preparations. It will take me a few hours to have everything-"

"Now. Please." Irelia interrupted again in a flat, unyielding tone that brimmed with danger.

Again, the runemaster gulped nervously. Irelia had easily seen through his attempt to stall for time.

"Right away..." He finally squeaked meekly.

With that, the rune master pulled a few magic imbued tools from his desk and hurried over to the sovereign's side. He seemed equally afraid to be in such a close proximity of the mage as he was afraid of the danger in Irelia's voice.

"I uhm... could you..." The rune master stuttered nervously, trying to ask Irelia to shift Syndra into a serviceable position.

Irelia complied wordlessly, gently reaching out and shifting the mage onto her stomach; the three runes on her back all glowing as they continued to drain magic out of Syndra's body.

Gulping once more, the man finally stooped over the mage and a securing tool one of the mage's runes. He paused briefly and glanced at Irelia.

"Are you sure about-"

Irelia silenced the man with a cold stare before tossing her head at the runes.

"As you wish..." The man finally muttered.

Working swiftly both out of fear and skill, the runemaster used a series of tools to prod and apply energy to the first rune, repeating a complicated algorithm that only he understood. At long last, the rune flickered slightly, briefly flashing as it heaved its final flashes of life. Finally, the light faded, never to illuminate again. After repeating the process for the following two runes, the runemaster finally rose from his craned position over the sovereign's body.

"It is done." he said quietly. With that, the runemaster lifted his tools from the sovereign's back; the runes clattering to the floor as they fell lifelessly off the mage's back, leaving only scars and memories of what used to be.

"Thank you." Irelia stated, maintaining her cold tone. "I need one more thing."

The runemaster froze with apprehension, fearing what else Irelia might ask of him.

"I would like to have access to her castle." Irelia stated.

The runemaster heaved a visible sight of relief.

"Of course." He quickly replied and pulled a small rune out of his desk. "This will allow you to pass through all the barriers we have placed. The barriers and runes will be removed by tomorrow." The runemaster finished.

"Thank you." Irelia finally replied and turned about her heel, taking the unconscious mage with her. Behind her, she audibly heard the runemaster heave another relieved sigh. Alas, Irelia cared little about how the runemaster felt. As Irelia pulled the gurney out of the Institute Headquarters, she gently laid her hand on Syndra's forehead. Already, the temperature had decreased from its formerly scorching heat. Irelia smiled slightly as she gazed at the mage's peaceful face. Irelia knew that when the mage finally returned to her consciousness, her eyes would be met with the familiar sight of her home; surrounded and cloaked in the protection of her power.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello again readers, here we are at the end of the ninth chapter. The stage is finally set for a nice little explosion that will be the next chapter. Hopefully you all will look forward to it. As always, thank you all for your continued support. Do leave me a message should you have any questions/comments/critique, all are welcome. Hope to see you all in the chapters to come!


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